Ridley Scott’s upcoming Gladiator 2 is facing some severe backlash over its official trailer which dropped on the web on Tuesday, July 9.
The movie itself is a sequel to Scott’s critically acclaimed 2000 Gladiator, which originally starred Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus.
Although the first movie is considered to be one of the filmmaker’s best and most beloved projects of all time, his 2024 sequel doesn’t have its loyal fanbase convinced.
Since its official trailer was posted to the official Paramount Pictures YouTube channel yesterday, which is currently sitting at over 11 million views, its like-to-dislike ratio is hard to ignore.
Although over 100,000 users have clicked the ‘like’ button, the ‘dislike’ button – which is hidden unless using an extension – has been tapped by over 150,000 users on the website.
It appears that the main gripe about the trailer is the fact that the studio’s trailer team decided to use a Jay-Z rap song, with one jokingly stating that they “stuck it in there” because it “mentions a colosseum.”
“Jay-Z rapping definitely transported me right back to 476 AD,” another added.
Various other highly engaged comments jokingly noted that the use of a rap song in the trailer was all down to actor Denzel Washington starring in the movie.
“We got Danzel, let’s throw a rap song in there to emphasize the Roman Empire,” one said.
“‘We only have one black guy in the movie, boss.’ ‘Blast a rap song over the trailer!’”
“I remember my grandmother saying to me: ‘I don’t care what they tell you in school, the Colosseum was designed for its acoustics for rap concerts’,” another joked.
The user who commented “We got Danzel, let’s throw a rap song in there to emphasize the Roman Empire” received a whopping 38,000 likes – almost half of the trailer itself.
Another complaint, mentioned by many, is how the trailer seemingly spoils the “whole movie in 3 minutes” – which does seem to be the case, to some degree.
However, audiences worldwide will find out exactly how much is left in store for them once Gladiator 2 hits theatres on November 22.
