MOVIE NEWS – Ridley Scott is keen to bring Gladiator 2 to life. He says it would be “critically stupid” not to do it.

Gladiator director Ridley Scott has confirmed his enthusiasm for bringing the long-awaited (yet unexpectedly announced) sequel to the big screen, saying it would be “critically stupid” of him not to make Gladiator 2 a reality. Recently asked if he could see himself directing the sequel, Scott ruled out missing the chance to direct a sequel to his epic historical drama:

“How could I not do that? It would be critically stupid of me not to do that, wouldn’t it?”

Scott’s apparent enthusiasm for Gladiator 2 is sure to excite the film’s massive fanbase. In the first Gladiator, which has since become an iconic piece of ‘sword & sandal’ cinema, Russell Crowe stars as the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Enslaved, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and quickly rises through the ranks of the arena to avenge the murder of his family and his emperor.

Gladiator 2 has been the subject of speculation for years. With the first film grossing over $400 million worldwide and being nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture and Best Actor, it’s no wonder the idea of a sequel has lingered for so long. Scott’s enthusiasm to finally get the film off the ground suggests that he has now found a way to get past Gladiator 2’s biggest hurdle, the death of Maximus.

Although plot details remain a closely guarded secret, rumours are swirling that Thor movie star Chris Hemsworth could star in Gladiator 2 as Maximus’ son.

“Russell thinks he could be the only man to credibly play his son in a Gladiator sequel,” explained an insider source.

The same source also claimed that Crowe and Hemsworth, who star together in Thor: Love and Thunder, “carefully considering the concept of Gladiator 2” and “have spent hours musing over script ideas”.

This suggestion is not precisely unproblematic either, as the tragic death of Maximus’ only known son played an essential role in the plot of the first film – unless we’re talking about an illegitimate son, perhaps the child Maximus and Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla had together. In any case, Ridley Scott has undoubtedly found a way to continue the Maximus story: the director has revealed that he has already written the script and hopes to start shooting after completing his Napoleon biopic Kitbag. “I’m already having [the next] Gladiator written now. So when I’ve done Napoleon, Gladiator will be ready to go,” Scott said back in September.

Source: Vandal Random