The idea of a sequel to Gladiator sounds absurd when you hear it because of how much of a success the first movie was and would sound even more absurd with the roles being given to different actors for gladiator II because how do you match Russell Crowe’s iconic Maximus, Joaquin Phoenix’s detestable Emperor Commodus, and all that sweet swords-and-sandals action?

But then when you see gladiator 2 trailer with killer baboons, romping-stomping rhinos, a Roman Colosseum filled with hungry sharks and Denzel Washington making a meal of every piece of dialogue you know there’s a reason the director made a sequel and it seems like its going to be even better than the first gladiator.

The upcoming Gladiator II picks up 16 years after Maximus triumphed over Commodus in the arena and became a legend. A young boy when those events unfolded, Lucius (Mescal) recalls witnessing Maximus’s heroic rise before being sent away from Rome for his own protection. Now living in Numidia along the African coast, Lucius commands troops alongside his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), an expert archer. When a Roman naval fleet, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), launches an assault on their city, Arishat is killed in the battle, and Lucius is captured and enslaved.

Lucius arrives in Rome, where a brutal encounter with a deadly monkey catches the attention of Macrinus (Washington), a ruthless arms dealer and “master of gladiators” with ambitions to expand his influence in Rome. “Rage is your gift. Hold onto it. It will lead you to power,” he advises Lucius.

Back in Rome, Acacius returns to his wife, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen)—daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the original film—and finds himself caught between the ambitions of the co-emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who want to host gladiatorial games in his honor before sending him off to conquer Persia and India. But Acacius is done with their tyrannical rule, vowing to Lucilla that he won’t sacrifice another generation of men for their “empty glory.”

Critics seem to think Gladiator II dedication to maximus is the films biggest weakness. Even though gladiator 2 trailer created an amazing hype of the movie with all its mind blowing war scenes and direction half of the critics still think its in the shadows of the first movie.