Although that TikTok trend has long run its course, Ridley Scott just can’t seem to get the Roman Empire off his mind. Ahead of his long-awaited Gladiator II , which premieres Nov. 15 internationally and Nov.
22 in the US and Canada, the Oscar-nominated director recently teased that he’s looking to round out the trilogy with a future third installment. “With that, I’m already toying with the idea of Gladiator 3 . No, seriously! I’ve lit the fuse.
..” he told French magazine Premiere .
“The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather , with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?’ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.” Paramount had no comment about the future of the franchise, which began with Scott’s Oscar-winning historical epic Gladiator (2000), starring Russell Crowe . Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as Lucius, who previously witnessed Maximus (portrayed in the original by Crowe) die at the hands of his uncle Commodus ( Joaquin Phoenix ) in the first movie.
Now an adult, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and fight to return glory to the people of Rome. The sequel also stars Denzel Washington , Pedro Pascal , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger and Connie Nielsen , who reprises her role as Lucius’ mother Lucilla from the original movie. Quinn previously recalled 86-year-old Scott had a “ thirst for life and also filmmaking” on the set of the highly-anticipated sequel.
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