Ridley Scott’s Idea for Gladiator 3 is Influenced by The Godfather

Ridley Scott plans on making a Gladiator threequel, and his greatest inspiration is The Godfather trilogy. The director told USA Today that “Yes, it’s true,” Gladiator III is on the way, and his ideas for it trace back to the mafia drama by Francis Ford Coppola. He said: “I sat and pondered all this over a weekend, and I realized, well, I’m stealing this whole notion from Francis.”

Scott compared the character arcs in Gladiator II to the progression of the Corleone family in the first two Godfather movies. In the new sequel, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is living peacefully in a far-off Roman colony, yet he is still dragged back to the Colosseum by force – just like his father Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the first movie. Scott compared this to The Godfather II, saying: “At the end of The Godfather, you see that Michael doesn’t want the job at all. I just love that idea of a guy who’s inherited a role that he just cannot get out of. That really intrigues me.”

That gives us some hint about where Gladiator III might be headed, but of course, Scott didn’t spell it out in this interview. Without spoiling anything too big, The Godfather Part III picks up about two decades after Part II, and finds Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) overcome with guilt for everything he did to secure his power as a mafia boss. He tries to assuage those feelings by donating to charity, and he tried to clean up his business affairs so the next generation can inherit something better from him. At the same time, a rapidly-changing world is looking for ways to hold him accountable for the many sins of his organization over the years.

What CouldGladiator III be About?

It’s not hard to imagine how a third Gladiator movie could achieve a similar sense of tragedy and irony, especially with a few more twists of historical fiction. Scott did not give any indication about when work might start on that project or when we might get to see it on the big screen. The 86-year-old director has a lot on his plate, but it sounds like one of his favorite parts of filming this movie was doing it fast.

[RELATED: Gladiator II: Explaining the Real Roman History Behind the Film]

“We did Gladiator II in 51 days, compared to 100 the first time around,” he said. “We had 11 cameras going. But don’t try that if you don’t know how to do it, it’ll be a mess.”

There’s no telling how many days of writing and pre-production need to set the stage before a filming marathon like that, so don’t hold your breath. Gladiator II is in theaters now. Gladiator is streaming now on Paramount+, as is The Godfather trilogy.