Where was Gladiator II filmed?

More than 20 years after Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius declared vengeance on the Roman emperor in Gladiator, director Ridley Scott is back for a second bout in the arena. The sequel sees little Lucius from the first movie – now grown up into Paul Mescal – undergo the same nobility-to-enslaved-to-fighter ordeal that made the first flick a hit (to the tune of five Oscars). And there is a whiff of nostalgia in the air.

Scott has revisited many of the same locations from the original, creating a similar visual look. Vast sets were again constructed in the city of Ouarzazate in Morocco, just south of the High Atlas Mountains. This gateway to the Sahara was a key stop-off for traders for centuries; now it’s known playfully as ‘Ouarzawood’ for the roster of filmmakers (Scott, Martin Scorsese, David Lean) who have been drawn to its desert scenery, film-studio facilities and historical sites. In particular, the distinctive clay walls of nearby Aït Benhaddou, a hillside ksar (fortified village) recognised by UNESCO, has provided a useful visual shorthand for the North African sections in both movies.

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Malta’s Fort Ricasoli is also back. Sitting on the eastern side of the island, this bastioned fort – built by the Knights of the Order of St John in the late 17th century – had an Ancient Roman makeover for the shooting of the film, with sets including a section of Rome’s Colosseum (the rest was filled in using CGI). Sadly, visitors can’t enter these days, but Scott’s location scouts have a real fondness for this site; it also doubled as the port of Toulon in the director’s 2023 film Napoleon.

If you want to recreate one of the most iconic scenes from the first film, when Maximus fantasises about wandering the wheat fields of his Spanish homeland, you need to visit the 15th-century Italian town of Pienza in the UNESCO-listed region of Val d’Orcia (two hours’ drive from Florence). Scott isn’t the first to be enchanted by its Tuscan landscapes; they have been a muse to artists dating back to the Renaissance.

Lastly, parts of both films were shot in the UK. The first movie took advantage of a planned deforestation in Surrey’s ancient Bourne Woods to turn it into the war-torn forests of Germania. Scott returned to southern England for reshoots on the sequel, with Roman soldiers spotted marching in Devil’s Dyke (near Brighton), the longest, deepest and widest dry valley in the UK. It’s certainly a great destination for anyone considering walking a section of the South Downs – we’d give it one big regal thumbs up.

Gladiator II is out in cinemas on 15 November.