Gladiator 2 is a project that has been rumored and talked about for quite a while now, but not something many fans probably saw as a realistic possibility. Given Russell Crowe‘s Maximus character’s fate at the end, a sequel seems like a strange sell. Either way, it’s apparently on the way from Ridley Scott at Paramount Pictures.
Deadline reports:
While he has been eyeing other projects that include a coming of age Merlin movie at Disney, Ridley Scott has begun forward progress on a sequel to Gladiator, the 2000 film which garnered 11 Oscar nominations and five wins including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. While Crowe’s Maximus character met his end in the classic original film, Gladiator 2 will follow the continuing story of Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), The youth was the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the weaselly son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius who murdered his father seized the throne and wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus, who though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great beyond to reunite with his slain wife and son. Maximus saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family, and left a strong impression on the young Lucius.
The report also adds:
Sources said Paramount will be the studio developing the project, and Universal has the option to co-finance. DreamWorks is out of it. Crowe’s Maximus is a tough act to follow, but the brutal world of Roman gladiators is so compelling, who wouldn’t be entertained by another plunge into that world?
Back in 2017, Ridley Scott had spoken about bringing Maximus back, saying:
“I know how to bring him back. I was having this talk with the studio — ‘but he’s dead.’ But there is a way of bringing him back. Whether it will happen I don’t know. Gladiator was 2000, so Russell’s changed a little bit. He’s doing something right now but I’m trying to get him back down here.”
Hopefully this isn’t as bad as Scott’s return to the Alien franchise, that included Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which weren’t really received all that well by fans. That’s not to say that some fans didn’t enjoy them, though. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
How do you feel about Gladiator 2 moving forward? Were you a fan of the first film? Be sure to tell us all of your thoughts in the comments down below!