Disney's Moana 2 Reverses A Major Sequel Trend That Gladiator 2 Didn't Avoid

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for both "Gladiator II" and "Moana 2."

Two major blockbuster sequels are barreling into theaters this Thanksgiving weekend that, to most normal people, might not seem to have much in common. Sure, both "Gladiator II" and "Moana 2" (with more than a little help from "Wicked") are about to super-charge the box office in a late-year push that theaters sorely need. But beyond the fact that both are bringing in boatloads of fans and both happen to feature curly-haired, shirtless warriors who return years after their first appearance in defiance of gods and men — okay, yeah, even typing that out makes the latter feel like a serious stretch — there's not much else to link them together. One is a swords-and-sandals drama set amid the dust of the Colosseum, and the other's an animated Disney movie about a Polynesian-influenced wayfinder who's most at home on water. However, we are not normal here at /Film and couldn't help but notice one crucial way that both films handle their respective stories.

As it turns out, the key is all about putting the "legacy" in "legacy sequel." "Gladiator II" might as well be the dictionary definition of that franchise trend (as pointed out by /Film's Chris Evangelista in his review), essentially remaking large swaths of the original "Gladiator" to reflect the decades that have passed since the original. Compared to that, "Moana 2" is releasing a relatively brisk eight years after its own predecessor, but still takes the passage of time into account and directly addresses the idea of our heroes coming to terms with their own legacies. (For more on that, check out /Film's review by BJ Colangelo here.) And yet, only one of these succeeds at doing what legacy sequels ought to do ... and, believe it or not, the kid-friendly adventure accomplishes its aims far better than the bloody, adult-minded epic from one of our greatest living directors.

In order to talk about what "Moana 2" does so well, it's necessary to diagnose where "Gladiator II" stumbles in its grand ambitions. The long-awaited sequel makes the rather no-brainer choice to focus on the son of Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by Russell Crowe), Paul Mescal's Lucius (in a "twist" that the marketing gave away well ahead of time). As a result, the entire plot bends over backwards to bring the exiled Lucius back into the picture within the heart of Rome and follow in the footsteps of his legendary father. A slave who becomes a gladiator who defies an emperor? Yeah, we've seen that done before and done exceedingly well ... so director Ridley Scott and writer David Scarpa basically decided to rehash that all over again with a slightly new coat of paint. Unfortunately, all this does is emphasize the glaring flaw that the movie is simply too indebted to the shadow of Maximus.

Ideally, a legacy sequel ought to be able to tell its own story while serving as a natural continuation of what came before. Think of "Blade Runner 2049" or "Creed" or "Top Gun: Maverick," all of which took their respective original movies into account, but allowed their protagonists the dignity of their own unique journey. Ryan Gosling's replicant K wasn't a carbon copy of Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard, nor was Adonis Creed meant to be Rocky Balboa reborn. Can the same honestly be said of Lucius when compared to the mighty Maximus? "Gladiator II" definitely talks a lot about the nature of legacy and living up to the greatness of our fathers, but when does the script ever actually internalize this burden inside Lucius and craft an arc where he must confront the choice of either accepting or rejecting this?

Luckily, "Moana 2" picks up the slack left by "Gladiator II."

"Moana 2" isn't a traditional legacy sequel in the sense that, like so many others in the near-decade since "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," it's about handing down the torch to a new generation of characters. Moana is still our main protagonist in the sequel, Maui is still her ever-loyal friend, and both will remain as such for the foreseeable future. Yet so much of the movie revolves around the theme of what we're leaving behind for others and how we could ever measure up to the legacy we made for ourselves. Moana has become an expert wayfinder and the savior of her people, yet she struggles to live up to such crushing expectations. Maui has regained his faith in himself after reaching some serious lows in the first film, and now it's his turn to pay that forward by helping Moana in her lowest moments. And it all crescendos beautifully with the climactic musical number "Can I Get A Chee Hoo?" and the very literal questions it asks about who she'll choose to become.

In answer to that, the sequel introduces Moana's sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda). It's not just Moana's legacy that's on the line throughout her odyssey across the sea, but the fate of her entire people scattered across the ocean in isolated communities. By keeping that larger focus in mind through the emotional bond between sisters, "Moana 2" adds something integral that "Gladiator II" could never quite pin down. Moana came so far in the original and became who she was meant to be all along — but the hard part, the sequel argues, is deciding how to leave behind a greater legacy for those who'll come next. Simea isn't ready to sail off into the open ocean just yet, but it's easy to imagine that one day she'll face a similar call to action and decide how to forge her own path.

Could that be the way forward for a potential "Moana 3"? It's far too early to say, but it'd sure feel like a fitting next step. Until then, "Moana 2" is now playing in theaters.