Rise of the Arena

Sixteen years after Gladiator ends, Rome is dominated by the tyrannical twin emperors Caracalla and Geta. Lucius Verus Aurelius—renamed “Hanno”—lives in exile in Numidia with his wife Arishat. The invasion by General Acacius results in Arishat's death and Lucius is enslaved. Tested in brutal arena battles—including fending off baboons—Lucius impresses slave-trader Macrinus, who buys and trains him for Rome’s Colosseum. Lucius’s growing renown is tied to his destiny: avenging his wife, confronting Acacius, and revealing his lineage as Marcus Aurelius’s grandson amid palace intrigues