Ridley Scott Reveals Why Gladiator 2 Took So Long

Ridley Scott's eclectic roster of films is about to add a major title, with the iconic director currently working on Gladiator 2. The sequel is set to follow up on the events of Scott's iconic 2000 film Gladiator, with an ensemble cast led by Paul Mescal as Lucius. In a recent interview with Total Film, Scott addressed the decades-long wait for the new Gladiator — and mainly blamed it on an initial inability to figure out the story. 

"Why now? It didn't have a script [before]. We tried, actually, four years ago, and I chose a very good writer who couldn't get his head around it. He wrestled. He was terribly upset that he didn't deliver. He's a friend of mine. I said, 'You're not getting there?' He said, 'No.' That took 10 months. So it went dead. And then we circled the wagons again, coming back with a very obvious idea, and why not? There's a survivor. The survivor is the son of the union between Lucilla and Maximus."

What Is Gladiator 2 About?

The Gladiator sequel will star Mescal as Lucius, the son of Lucilla, The youth was the nephew of Commodus, 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. Gladiator 2 will also star Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, May Calamawy, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah, and Matt Lucas. The film is directed by Ridley Scott, off of a script from David Scarpa.

"First of all, I love doing period films. I love the research. I love to create sort of smells of the period," Scott told the press in 2021. "I think what we did with the first Gladiator…I don't like being critical of other things that have happened before, but I wasn't the biggest fan of Hollywood Roman epics, honestly. They felt artificial and so, when I was asked to consider a script, the script was not very good. But the person who gave it to me said, I want to show you one thing, and he picked up an illustration, this is true, it's called For Those About to Die by Gérôme. He holds it up. It's a picture of this big painting of the Coliseum, and in the corner there is this guy, about to tuna fork this poor bastard," Scott added. "He's got this thing in his neck, and he's looking up for permission to kill. I went, bloody hell, that's never been done properly before. Never. I said, I'll do it. He said you will? I said yes. Did you want to read the script? I said no, and we went off and hit the ground running around the table, and evolved the new material."

Is Russell Crowe Involved With Gladiator 2?

Russell Crowe, who originally starred as Maximus in the first Gladiator, has repeatedly expressed that he is not involved with the new sequel.

"I mean, look, the only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know? Because I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life," original Gladiator star Russell Crowe explained in an interview earlier this year. "It's something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living, and, you know, I've been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible. Here it is, it's 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV. And you don't always get that kind of longevity with every film you do, so, it obviously holds a special place in my heart."

Are you excited for the Gladiator sequel? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!