In November 2018, Paramount formally approved a Gladiator sequel, and now, director Ridley Scott has revealed the script is finished. Scott will continue to work on the Gladiator saga despite his recent busy schedule, which includes two significant films this year: The Last Duel and House of Gucci. The sequel, written by Peter Craig (The Town, The Batman), is anticipated to continue the story of Lucius, who was portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in the original movie from 2000.
After Scott finishes directing Kitbag, the sequel will go into production. Joaquin Phoenix will portray Napoleon Bonaparte in Kitbag, which will focus on his life story. In an interview with Deadline, Scott discussed the Gladiator sequel’s plot and said the following:
You can’t just do another Gladiator-style film; you have to follow. There are enough elements from the previous one to pick up the ball and continue it. “Oh, it’s been written. It’s already been written. We have a good footprint, a decent, logical place to go.”
A 25–30 year time leap will occur since the sequel will follow Lucius, Lucilla’s (Connie Nielsen) son. Despite the fact that the character Maximus dies at the end of the first movie, Russell Crowe is still anticipated to make an appearance in the sequel. Though fellow Australian actor Chris Hemsworth indicated interest in the Crowe sequel back in April, no additional casting announcements or narrative specifics have been made. They collaborated on Thor: Love and Thunder, in which Crowe is anticipated to make a fleeting appearance as Zeus.
The only two movies Scott currently has in development are Kitbag and Gladiator 2, thus the beginning of Gladiator’s sequel is quite optimistic. As early as June 2001, developments started, and they have continued intermittently since then. In a draught from 2006 with a religious undertone, Maximus was slated to be resurrected by the Roman gods and brought back to Earth to stop the spread of Christianity. Scott had made it plain that he preferred a more realistic historical fiction approach, thus it is not shocking that the script never saw the light of day.
The Gladiator sequel has not yet been given a release date. On November 24, Scott’s new movie, House of Gucci, will be seen in theatres.
