The popular travel trend of Set-Jetting is always coming up with new destinations for fans to visit, and this time, it’s Malta. Fans can explore the film location of Gladiator II, where Russell Crowe and Pedro Pascal were captured on film. Meanwhile, the movie is already attracting travelers to Malta as Set-Jetters continue to find their best filming locations.

Set-Jetting in Malta – Gladiator II

The trend of Set-Jetting is now a global phenomenon, where fans of TV shows and movies alike want to explore the various beautiful filming locations. Moreover, as modern TV and film productions become more cinematic and immersive, this tends to now blur the lines between travel and fiction, with fans exploring the locations they see on screen.

Now, it is the turn of Gladiator II, the exciting sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 classic movie, Gladiator. The movie stars Russell Crowe, Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal, Denzil Washington and other Hollywood A-Listers while using Malta’s historic architecture for a realistic backdrop for the movie’s story.

Screen tourism as a trend

As noted by EuroNews, Set-Jetting is often also dubbed screen tourism, and it has taken off in recent years. Moreover, it has emerged as one of the fastest-growing travel trends. Speaking of the trend, Seren Welch, a screen tourism specialist said:

This is an area of tourism that’s seen exponential growth in the last ten years.

Due to this, Malta, nestling in the central Mediterranean Sea, is already a huge draw for movie lovers and visitor numbers are likely to surge as fans seek to explore the locations in the new blockbuster movie.

Meanwhile, according to data from Expedia in 2023, 40 percent of trips that were booked on their platform were influenced by TV shows or movies. Moreover, the trend keeps growing, thanks to streamers like Netflix, with movies and shows featuring popular historic locations, and epic landscapes, while inspiring travel to the filming locations.

Welch continued speaking of the streamer’s 2022 findings:

[Netflix’s] subscribers were 2.4 times more likely to put a destination at the top of their travel list after seeing it in a show… something a tourist board can only dream of.

Platforms can even track destination search spikes exactly when a new show drops… as seen with Emily in Paris and Bridgerton.

Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal said, “Location is everything when it comes to telling a story.”

Moreover, Welch agreed, saying:

The instantaneous process of watching a program on your preferred streaming platform has sped up the connection between ‘I love to watch’ to ‘I want to visit.’

Ridley Scott’s choice of Malta for Gladiator II

As a tribute to the original movie, Ridley Scott’s choice of Malta was ideal. The island features historic architecture with which Malta can effortlessly double as ancient Rome. According to Denzel Washington, who stars as Macrinus in Gladiator II said in a Screen Malta video:

Malta is a character. You can feel the history here; it was the perfect place to shoot.

Furthermore, Malta isn’t new to movie-making efforts. The island has previously starred in epics like Agora, Troy and Napoleon. In the new movie, Fort Ricasoli, a 17th-century bastioned fortress built by the Knights of St. John, is at the heart of the film set.

Renowned for its panoramic views and historic charm, the fort was transformed in the movie into a massive Roman amphitheater, along with a life-size reconstruction of the Colosseum. In the movie, this was used for one of its most intense moments, when Paul Mescal’s character battles against a CGI rhinoceros.

Gladiator II is not just a short-term phenomenon in Malta, as it is a powerful platform to showcase its unique heritage. Besides Fort Ricasoli, other filming locations to visit include Valletta’s Grand Harbour and Mdina, which travelers can explore on guided tours.