After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
 
Are you not entertained?!...Meh, mildly.
 
FUN FACT:  In the years following the release of the first film, there were numerous attempts to write a sequel. One idea suggested by producer Douglas Wick was to have Maximus' body be placed in a cave, and be resurrected similar to Jesus, but Russell Crowe told him "I don't think we have the rights to that story." Musician Nick Cave was also invited to draft a version by Crowe and Sir Ridley Scott. His version focused on the more mythical elements of Ancient Rome, and would have seen Maximus arrive in the afterlife, only to be faced with other souls who are yet to ascend further. He is eventually tasked by Jupiter and other Roman deities to return to earth to find and kill Hephaestus, a former deity who has betrayed them. From there, he is resurrected as a Christian and finds himself journeying back to Rome, on a mission to stop Christianity from spreading, while crossing paths with the new Emperor, Lucius. The movie would have ended with Maximus being cursed to live for an eternity, featuring a montage of the soldier battling through the Crusades, World War II, and the Vietnam War, eventually revealing a modern-day Maximus working at the Pentagon in Washington. The studio decided not to go through with this version, but the script is available to read online.