Russell Crowe's character looms heavily over the Gladiator II trailer

Popverse's top stories of the day

• What was the first San Diego Comic-Con like? "Like the Little Rascals that were having sex and taking drugs" says co-founder
• Amazon just bought the UK film studio behind Rocky Horror Picture Show, Alien, the Hammer films, and more to be its new UK "creative home"
• Marvel Comics sees its future in the readers of "youth-driven" manga and OGNs according to its publisher

Years ago, there were rumors of a Gladiator II script in which Russell Crowe's character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, would return from the dead. Well, the Gladiator II trailer is out now, and though Maximus' ghost is nowhere to be seen, his memory is all over the place. Watch it for yourself here.

The theme of 'Gladiator taking on tyrants' is already a pretty decent callback to the first Ridley Scott-directed Roman historical drama, but Maximus's legacy is directly referenced throughout the film. Paul Mescal's character Lucius appears to have witnessed Maximus in action, partly inspiring him to be the rage-villed avenger we meet in the trailer. Then there's returning character Lucilla, played by Connie Nielsen, who's acting as torch-passer between Maximus and Lucius, providing the latter with the former's ring, armor, and even some spirit.

All that said, the challenges facing Lucius are not quite the same as the ones Maximus took on. Pedro Pascal's Marcus Acacius is a very different foil, for example, a beloved general with reservations about hoow the Roman Empire is treating its people but with a fierce loyalty to that Empire nonetheless (contrast that with Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus, who's loyalty was to, well, himself). And, even though he acts as Lucius's friend in the trailer, Denzel Washington's Macrinus appears to have his own agenda - one in which a warrior like Lucius is both useful and expendable. All in all, the biggest similarity between Lucius and Maximus, by the end of this film, may be their tragic end.

Then again, who knows? Maybe Maximus's ghost will show up and help after all.

Gladiator II charges into theaters November 22.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out our guides to upcoming movies, upcoming TV shows, upcoming comics, and upcoming comic conventions. If you're looking for specific franchises or genres, we have all the upcoming MCU, upcoming Star Wars, upcoming Star Trek, and upcoming DC movies & TV for you. If you're a fan of superheroes and not specific to just Marvel or DC, we have overall guides to all the upcoming superhero movies and upcoming superhero TV shows (and new seasons) as well.