But what raises the follow-up above typical blockbuster fare is a scene-stealing performance from Denzel Washington. Not that you really notice that theft at first. There’s a lot going on in the background.

The two met during the Royal Film Performance of the film at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London on Wednesday, Nov. 13

Denzel Washington revealed that his same-sex kissing scene was taken out of the final cut of Gladiator II. During a recent interview with Gayety about the historical epic, Washington was asked, “How gay is the Roman Empire?