Gladiator Star Connie Nielsen Provides Update on Sequel Plans

A sequel to Gladiator was announced back in 2018 and with no firm details having been released in the time since, some fans are wondering what the status of the project is, with original star Connie Nielsen noting that, in addition to the coronavirus pandemic halting productions around the world, the status of the project depends on how Ridley Scott will be prioritizing the sequel. With Scott not only being a director but also a producer on a number of projects, it's unknown which of his many announced projects will progress first, with the filmmaker most recently having been shooting The Last Duel, a production which has been halted indefinitely.

"So, we did hear from the producers," Nielsen shared with Entertainment Weekly. "I think it's just a question of which film is coming first in Ridley's very tight schedule. And then I think it's a question of COVID and can we get back to work. But I would be interested in doing [the film], for sure. I mean, it's obviously a wonderful project, so of course I would be interested."

One of the last official updates about the project came last summer, with the sequel's producers hinting at the timeline of the new entry.

"We're working with Ridley, and that's one we wouldn't touch unless we felt we had a way to do it that's legitimate, so we're working with an amazing writer, as well, Peter Craig," producer Laurie MacDonald shared with HeyUGuys.

Producer Walter F. Parkes added, "It picks up the story 30 years later, 25 years later."

With how much time has passed since the original film landed in theaters, some audiences might be apprehensive about the endeavor. However, as opposed to other famous franchises, Scott has already proven he can deliver an exciting follow-up to a beloved film, as 2017 saw him producing Blade Runner 2049 35 years after the original 1982 film, as well as the filmmaker returning to the Alien franchise in 2011 with Prometheus and in 2017 with Alien: Covenant after having been absent since the debut 1979 film.

Back in 2017, Scott teased what he had in mind for the Gladiator sequel.

"I know how to bring him back," Scott shared at South by Southwest about Russell Crowe's Maximus. "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."

Stay tuned for details on the Gladiator sequel.

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