Rome, circa 209 A.D. Sixteen years after the demise of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator (2000), the Roman Empire is now ruled by the tyrannical Emperors Caracalla and Geta. As tensions mount, an enslaved Numidian leader arrives in the city as a gladiator, putting allegiances to the test. No one knows who he is, but with sinister schemes threatening the Republic, can this humble defender restore Rome to its former glory?