The music of the first installment of Gladiator, composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, is one of the legendary soundtracks of the last decades of film history. The songs and melodies that resonate in our heads when we hear the title of this film were nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA award and won the Golden Globe for best soundtrack.
Now, 24 years later, Paul Mescal takes over from Russell Crowe in this epic drama under the command of Ridley Scott to star in one of the most anticipated releases of 2024, Gladiator 2, but it is precisely its soundtrack that has given it the most talk before its premiere.
A rap in a Roman movie?
Thousands of fans were eagerly awaiting the first scenes of the film and at the beginning of July part of their curiosity was alleviated with the launch of the trailer.
Mescal’s body worked to give life to Lucio Vero, the Roman Colosseum in all its splendor, the epic of the Roman Empire, the magnetic presence of Pedro Pascal… nothing seemed to disappoint the spectators, except one thing: the music.
The preview of Gladiator 2 received more than a million views in the first hours of its publication, but the debate immediately took over the networks over the song chosen to give a heroic shine to the scenes shown: No Church in the Wild, a song by 2011 that is part of the album Watch the Throne by rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, which left many with their mouths open.
The trailer accumulated more dislikes (I don’t like it) than likes (I like it) because for many hip hop does not fit with the epic and nostalgic tone of the first of the films. “The rap song in the trailer kills the whole vibe of the movie”, “Great music choice… The only thing missing is Dom Toretto wandering around the Colosseum in a modified car” or “I can’t believe they didn’t use parts of the original theme to fill you with nostalgia. That score by Hans Zimmer still gives me goosebumps”, are some of the negative comments that the teaser received.
The most applauded opinions are those that ironize the choice of melody and accumulate thousands of likes: “Jay-Z’s rap definitely transported me to the year 476 AD!” and “This Jay Z song mentions a coliseum. ‘Yeah, put it there'”—one verse says, “Blood stains the doors of the Coliseum”—for example.
And there are also voices that defend the appropriateness of the song by Jay Z and Kanye West, in collaboration with Frank Ocean and The-Dream, highlighting that this composition, which is a criticism of power structures and religious beliefs, has already formed part of the trailer and the movie The Great Gatsby.
“The Gladiator 2 trailer attempts to capture the thrill of gladiator battles by using hip-hop, the genre that dominates fitness and exercise playlists with its energetic beats and percussive vocals. And this song hip-hop in particular relates specifically to the film’s themes of rebellion against royalty, as the chorus questions the power of kings against those who reject their rule. The music doesn’t fit chronologically, but, thematically, it goes. The effectiveness of the trailer can be questioned, but it is not a mistake, it is a strategy,” writes Andrew King on The Gamer portal.
A new composer
Of course, there was no shortage of comments that regretted that the original theme, “Hans Zimmer’s iconic score,” had not been used. But the composer is not part of the sequel by his own decision, as was announced a few months ago.
“It’s very simple. I’ve already delved into the world—of Gladiator—and I think I’ve done it well. The only thing that could happen to me now is that I repeat myself, which I don’t want to do, or have my fingers destroyed. critics who accuse me of not doing it as well as in the first part. I prefer to continue evolving and not be compared to my own work,” the musician explained about his absence in the film.
It is Harry Gregson-Williams, author of the soundtracks for Shrek and The Chronicles of Narnia, who is in charge of providing music to the most impressive scenes of Gladiator 2.
