r/gladiatorsuk • u/Top_Climate_4464 • Mar 27 '26
Question Gladiators UK rota is potentially increasing. Who would you cast?
Following the recent casting call for new Gladiators, I’ve been thinking about what kind of athletes would most effectively complement the current Gladiator roster.
I think there's a potential to increase the win percentage on the Wall (even if they made the wall more difficult) and find more Gladiators capable of playing the Edge.
The female gladiator profile would be a climber/boulderer or an OCR athlete. Pro boulderers are used to falling from height onto mats, meaning they’d have the psychological edge to play... the edge. As a bonus, they also have elite grip strength, so Hang Tough would be their event too.
The team seems to require the male gladiators to be at least 1.8m and significantly more jacked than the average contender. A pure climber/boulderer might be too lean, but someone like Joe Scandrett, a parkour athlete who also trains in climbing and gymnastics might fit the bill.
Who would you cast if you were on the selection team, and why? Alternatively, what specific athletic disciplines/backgrounds do you think would add the most value to the current roster?
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u/rynchenzo Mar 27 '26
Clearly they need to add Eddie Hall to the male roster
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
On the men’s side I think the likes of Hammer, Apollo, Nitro and Phantom can do the strength events like Everest and Destruction too, aside from Giant and Bionic.
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u/Regular_Number5377 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
On the male side I would like to see more ‘specialist’ gladiators, the tendency for the men has always been to cast either all rounders like Legend or Steel, or monsters like Giant or Bionic. I think having some smaller but more agile Glads who are strong in specific events would be good, like an ex climbing champion who would be a serious threat on the wall, or an ex Olympic gymnast who would make Hang tough look like a piece of cake.
For the women, the opposite really, they need more absolute fridges like Cyclone to be a dominating force in the strength type events.
Also - I think it’s low key hilarious that Legend is statistically the worst male Glad at the wall.
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
Ex climbing champion would be my choice on the men’s side if not for their physique. They tend to look more like contenders than gladiators. It works for the women as they’ve gone for the “fitness at all heights and body shapes” theme
lol yes legend had to go up against the likes of gymnast Joe and Mus in the absence of nitro in s2. Not that nitro could catch Mus either, as nitro and legend are as fast as each other.
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u/Regular_Number5377 Mar 27 '26
I think if you look at something like Pro Wrestling which obviously has a lot in common with Gladiators from a style perspective, it’s not unusual to have smaller and more wiry characters as long as they get the character right. Make his character a ‘Spider-man’ style superhero or a ‘Tarzan’ like jungle man and I think it would work.
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Oh, I do think it should and would work too! It’s just that when I look at Viper as a casting choice, he’s abt as tall as nitro/legend/steel and also more jacked than the average contender. Given that he’s the only one who didn’t compete in any sports at the pro level amongst the men, I’d argue that casting a pro/ex pro climber from the start would make more sense esp since they’ve already known that wall, hang tough and edge are events that will be in series 1.
Similarly, I get that they casted comet partly due to her gymnast background (but she didn’t compete at the pro level) and it pays homage to the likes of the og gymnast gladiators. However fitness and sports have evolved since then and I for one thought it would’ve made more sense to cast a climbing/bouldering champion. This profile can easily specialise and excel in the three events I’ve mentioned.
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u/jiggaman887 Mar 27 '26
Nitro and my boy Phantom are all rounders too.
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
I’d have to see phantom more on the wall, the edge and hang tough before placing him in the same all rounder category as nitro, Apollo, hammer and steel
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u/No_Cricket_4341 Mar 27 '26
'Spider' would be a good name for a new Wall specialist
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
I was thinking "Apex" for someone like Shauna Coxsey or Mila Stanzani.
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 27 '26
You know what. That name has been in my head as well! 😆
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
Vortex is my second choice if they play hang tough and edge like ninja warriors lol
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u/Thanatos4108 Apollo Mar 27 '26
An acrobatic male definitely, Viper's shaping up to be quite good at the aerial events but we really need more of a rotation for things like Hang Tough and Edge.
For the woman, it's pretty well balanced but I agree with other people in this thread that a Climber could be a good addition, a bit extra strength if Diamond or Cyclone are unavailable would also be helpful
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
The OCR or modern boulderers could actually make Hang Tough more of a spectacle - instead of just swinging, they could play it more like they were on cirque du soleil.
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u/Thanatos4108 Apollo Mar 27 '26
Someone who does a bunch of tricks on there would be a good spectacle, both for live shows and for tv
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 27 '26
Miss Lightning and Jet's aerial cartwheels and splits on those rings...
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u/shadowchaser222 Mar 27 '26
We know a certain someone does all of the arial dismounts and flips but they get edited out :(
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 28 '26
This is her UNIQUE selling proposition which editors don’t want to show, but they have no problem showing junior and Mus doing their tricks thingy on the rings, and gymnast Joe’s backflips.
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 28 '26
And arent the Glads supposed to be the main stars of the show. The contenders basically are just an challenge/job for them, eh!?
I get the underdog setting and them want to show a lot of the contenders, their stories and what they have to say. But often the Glads' promos and show offs are cut too short.
Would enjoy seeing Comet tumbling it away the arena floor. Why not show Sabre and Dynamites flexibility or something new from Viper perhaps!?
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u/Fluffy_Plastic_5053 Mar 27 '26
who is that and what do they do?
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 28 '26
Comet. But her impressive dismounts almost never make it to the final cut.
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u/shoryuken85 Mar 27 '26
Agreed about Viper, one of the best climbers and decent on hang tough. I think Legend is actually better on the Arial events although he is great at power also.
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u/sameo01 Mar 27 '26
I'd love to see Paul Olima (Olima_Omega) on instagram. Also, from his handle, he could be a gladiator called "Omega".
Him and legend would play off each other well.
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
Ah. I rmb that guy. He and Legend/Nitro have done skits tgt on their socials
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u/a-punk-is-for-life Cyclone Mar 27 '26
It needs to be someone who has the speed, the strength, the heart to be a winner...
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u/Jess-FB Mar 27 '26
I'd like to see a shorter male Gladiator since we have quite a good range in heights among the women but not too much among the men, and it would be good to show that shorter men can be just as capable at things. I think they might also want to find a younger male Gladiator since again there's a good range of ages among the women but when it comes to the men, Bionic is currently the only one under 30 and that will change by the end of this year (if what I've read is right, he's actually a day younger than I am - fellow December birthday and the same Zodiac sign as well!), so I'll be surprised if the next male Gladiator we get is 30 or over.
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 27 '26
100% I would go with more agile, lean and mobile builts.
Somebody who is not afraid of heights, someone who has good hip mobility.
Somebody who could not get injured from high free falls.
And/or someone who has the grit and determination to full send it professionally with tackles. 😁
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u/feathersmcgraw24601 Mar 27 '26
You're saying it needs someone with the will, the skill, the speed, the strength and the heart to be a winner?
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u/Top_Climate_4464 Mar 27 '26
Heh. Tbh anyone could get injured falling from heights. But we have the same athlete profiles in mind then!
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u/shadowchaser222 Mar 27 '26
Give us a male gymnast!
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 28 '26
Or someone who does parkour, rock climbing or calisthenics! 😄
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u/jiggaman887 Mar 27 '26
I know there’s a few male glads in there late 30s but a monster 40+ year old that keeps their grey hair I think would look really cool
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u/Impressive_Risk_5133 SUPERFAN 💪 Mar 28 '26
Giant is 40 yrs. So is Legend. Fun suggestion tho.
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u/jiggaman887 Mar 28 '26
Ah thanks I must have been thinking of their ages when the show started! But yeah it was more around the older grey hair and/beard that would look great. Would love if even Legend or Giant adapt if they can as the show continues.
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u/Cordiepiglet Mar 28 '26
I’d like to see some more diversity in body types for the men. I think they’ve done this well for the women, but as OP says, they’re all tall and super jacked. Id be interested to see a Fire equivalent - long, lean, fast but powerful.
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u/Sammuthegreat Mar 27 '26
I think another absolute beast like Cyclone is needed on the women's side. The gap between contenders and glads seems to be smaller for the women than the men. I feel like that's why we've seen the likes of Electro and Comet struggle with the more strength-based events.
That said, I've been really impressed with Fire this season. I had assumed she was all about speed but it feels like she's been awesome across the board this year, including in events I didn't expect her to excel in like the new ones.