10 Recent Movie Moments Everybody Was Waiting For

Remember how Alien: Romulus didn't go the easy route by making its main character the child of the original film's protagonist? Well Gladiator II went the other way, and did exactly that, confirming that Lucius (Paul Mescal) was in fact the son of Maximus (Russell Crowe).

In the original film, Lucius was a secondary character at best, and the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus. The young boy was ultimately forced to flee Rome, on account of being a threat to his Uncle's throne, but not before sharing a moment with Maximus.

It was never confirmed that he was Maximus' son, despite them forming a connection after just one conversation, in fact it was quite the opposite. Though Russell Crowe's was an on-again, off-again lover of Lucius' mother, his father was said to be Lucius Verus. However, 24 years later it was confirmed that they were in fact related by blood, and it was not that surprising.

Aside from the fact that the aforementioned familial tie back to the original is about the lowest hanging fruit a legacy sequel can reach for, Maximus and Lucilla's (Connie Nielsen) connection, along with the admiration the boy had for his as-of-yet unconfirmed father, gave reason enough to believe there was something deeper there, to which of course there was.

Be warned, spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps will follow...