It has been more than two decades, but fans and director Ridley Scott have not forgotten about Gladiator, the iconic film from 2000 telling the story of the fictitious Maximus, fighting against the Roman tyrant Commodus. A sequel to the film is in development and, according to Scott, a script has already been written.
In an interview with Deadline, Scott was asked about the writers attached. He explained, "Oh, it’s been written. It’s already been written. We have a good footprint, a good, logical place to go." The director added, "You can't just do another Gladiator type movie. You’ve got to follow…there’s enough components from the first one to pick up the ball and continue it."
When asked about Gladiator's lasting appeal and the reasons why the film is getting a sequel at all, Scott stated, "First of all, I love doing period films. I love the research. I love to create sort of smells of the period. 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."
Scott then went on to describe the image, titled For Those About to Die by Gérôme. "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. 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."
While Maximus was an entirely fictional character, loosely based on a number of different Roman figures, his rival Commodus was real, albeit with a number of creative liberties taken by the film. Despite its historical inaccuracies, the film was well-received by critics and audiences and grossed $460.5 million on a budget of $103 million. Adjusted for inflation, its box office earnings total approximately $738 million. The film has been credited with sparking an interest in history among mainstream audiences.
No release date has been announced for Gladiator 2.
Source: Deadline
0 Comments