Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II isn’t even out in theaters yet and the 86-year-old director is already talking about. making another sequel to his Oscar-winning swords-and-sandals epic.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, when asked about a project he was considering next, Scott Replied “I’d rather get on into Gladiator III,” adding that “there’s already an idea” for a second sequel — one he claimed was “taking inspiration” from The Godfather Part II.
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Gladiator came out in 2000 — meaning it took nearly a quarter of a century for Scott to successfully mount a sequel. It would be quite an achievement if he got a third one into production in a matter of months, instead of decades.
The original film followed a Roman general played by Russell Crowe who is betrayed and then captured by slave traders, who force him to fight as a gladiator. In the sequel, Paul Mescal plays the son of the former emperor’s daughter; from the looks of the trailer, he undergoes a similar transformation from royalty to gladiatorial warrior.
If Scott did indeed direct a third Gladiator that would tie Alien for the most films he’s made in a single franchise. (Scott directed the original Alien, then the prequel Prometheus and its sequel Alien: Covenant.) A handful of his other films have gotten prequels or sequels (Blade Runner, Hannibal) but Scott did not direct them.
THR’s does not specify what sort of inspiration Gladiator III could take from The Godfather Part II. That film is notable for being both a sequel and a prequel; it continues the events of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone settling into his new role as the don of his crime family while there are occasional flashbacks to the story of his far, Vito, immigrating to America and then rising to power in the early years of the 20th century.
When I hear a sequel is going to be in the style of Godfather Part II, I assume it will mimic this structure; that it will be both prequel and sequel. A Gladiator in this mode could be about both the ongoing journey of Mescal’s character, plus the story of how Crowe’s character rose through the Roman military years before. But I could be wrong.
Gladiator II is scheduled to open in theaters on November 15.
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