Gladiator II Faces Ridiculously Heavy Backlash Over a Jay-Z Song in the Trailer, with People Calling It Historically Inaccurate

Nearly 25 years since the release of the first Gladiator, Ridley Scott is set to deliver a star-studded sequel that promises to be a blockbuster event.

Scott’s a visionary, and we can all expect a sequel that will, at least in terms of scope, be superior to the first one, with the trailer already giving us glimpses of some utterly intense and exciting stuff. I mean, naval battles in the Colosseum, a character riding a blood-splattered rhinoceros, and an utterly spell-binding and sinister Denzel Washington. Sign me up.

Gladiator II Faces Ridiculously Heavy Backlash Over a Jay-Z Song in the Trailer

The first trailer for Gladiator 2 is a visual spectacle by all means, and there doesn’t seem to be anything inherently wrong with it that seems to suggest that the film is going to be awful or anything. So, why the backlash? Well, apparently, fans are not happy with the choice of the song in the trailer, which has caused people to have an online meltdown over what the movie could potentially turn out to be.

About two-thirds into the trailer, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild” plays over the booming orchestra, with Frank Ocean’s vocals about gods and non-believers mixing with Jay-Z’s lyrics about blood staining the Colosseum doors. And this song choice has sparked a fiery debate on social media, with people calling it “straight-up blasphemy” and “historically inaccurate.”

In the 24 hours since the trailer dropped on YouTube, it has received a whopping 11 million views. By all accounts, it went viral, and people are definitely talking about it. However, the trailer has over 125,000 dislikes, compared to the 99,000 likes it currently has, and the comment section of the official trailer video on YouTube has also been filled with heavy backlash and some rather bizarre criticisms.

Using a contemporary pop song in a historical context can feel clichéd, especially when the lyrics mention the word “Colosseum.” And I suppose seeing this overplayed trope maybe does warrant some scepticism. However, the negative reactions seem way overblown, as though using a hip-hop song for ancient Rome is a taboo that one must never dream of in their wildest looney tunes dreams.

Gladiator II Faces Ridiculously Heavy Backlash Over a Jay-Z Song in the Trailer

There have also been comments about the setting being “Rome, not the Bronx” that tie into criticism regarding Denzel Washington’s involvement.

One tweet questioned why Washington was “allowed to do a NY accent in a film set in ancient Rome,” while several media outlets and viewers even criticised him for “basically playing himself.” All this fuss feels unnecessary, and this criticism seems misplaced. Denzel makes any movie in which he is in an infinitely better experience, and he will probably be every bit as believable as Paul Mescal or Pedro Pascal in this film. The suspension of disbelief extended to an Irish-accented Roman slave should logically apply to Washington, especially given his talent.

Critics citing “historical inaccuracy” also miss the mark here. Washington’s character, Macrinus, was a real person from northern Africa, now modern-day Algeria. As a Berber, he probably did not look much like Denzel, but he certainly wasn’t white, and he achieved great things and a significant status in his life. And naturally, it is a no-brainer that the Roman Empire, with its 60 million inhabitants, included various skin tones across all societal levels, including emperors.

Perhaps the massive backlash and criticism for Gladiator II are only on the internet and within a specific section of it, with conservative voices quick to count the diversity of the cast, decrying “wokeness.” Such is probably the nature of online criticism these days that if you don’t like anything, you can just call it woke and think that’s an insult.

Gladiator II is scheduled for release on November 22, 2024, featuring Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus, reprising his role from the first film. He will be joined by Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, forming a stellar main cast in Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated sequel.

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