Ridley Scott Announces He’s Working On Gladiator Sequel

Legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott is working on a sequel of his 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, but is finding it hard to crack a story for the follow-up. In an interview, Doug Wick, one of the producers associated with the original film, shared that the director is attempting to make a follow-up film. “Ridley would love to do it. It’s really all about getting something on paper. Everyone loves the movie too much to ever consider cheaply exploiting it and making something that’s a shadow of it,” Scott said. “It’s just really a clear creative problem, working on a script, and if we can ever get it to a place — Ridley’s working on it, it’s really just a question of whether we can get it to a place where it feels worthy to make it. It’s a real challenge,” he added. The lead character Maximus Decimus Meridius, played by Russell Crowe, was dead at the end of the film, but that hasn’t hampered the plans for the sequel. Last year, producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald said a sequel would be set 25 to 30 years after the original. In an interview, Laurie said, “We’re working with Ridley. That’s one we wouldn’t touch unless we felt in a way to do it was legitimate. We’re working with an amazing writer as well, Peter Craig,” Gladiator was a global box-office success, and garnered an impressive 11 Oscar nominations. It ended up with five wins including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.