There's a Gladiator 2 popcorn bucket and we are very much entertained

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We've decided to name it Maximus Decimus Meridius

Gladiator 2
(Image credit: Paramount)

The Gladiator 2 popcorn bucket has arrived – and my first thought was, "Oh thank God, it's just a helmet."

The popcorn bucket is shaped like the helmet/mask a fighter wears in the arena (specifically the one Maximus wears in the first film), and the popcorn is retrieved from the top of the bucket rather than through its mouth or something weird. You can check out the photos below.

The unintentionally suggestive-looking Dune 2 popcorn bucket kicked off a trend this year: Deadpool and Wolverine came out with its own intentionally gross bucket as a parody of Dune 2's, with Alien: Romulus abandoning the open orifice style for a simple facehugger wrapped around a standard black bucket and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice doing something similar with a black-and-white sandworm. The grossness picked back up, however, with Terrifier 3 releasing a blood-splattered bucket in the shape of Art the Clown's head...and the Venom 3 bucket has that open mouth thing again. Sigh.

The long-awaited sequel is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year. Ridley Scott returns to direct from a screenplay by David Scarpa (Napoleon). Per the official logline, after his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength.

Gladiator 2 is set to hit theaters on November 22 in the US and November 15 in the UK. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond, or, skip straight to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates.

Lauren Milici
Lauren Milici
Senior Entertainment Writer

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.