[The following story contains spoilers for Gladiator II.]
Ridley Scott already has a plan for Gladiator III, and he has not been shy when it comes to dropping hints about it.
The visionary director has been promoting his new action-epic sequel, which is set to deliver a $60 million opening weekend at the box office. Scott, who turns 87 next week, already wants to return to the arena — and not wait two decades this time.
Gladiator II ends with Paul Mescal’s Lucius having gained the backing of an army and having defeated the villainous Macrinus (Denzel Washington), following his killing of the two Emperors, Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger). The ending gives the weary Lucius an opportunity to seize power for himself.
Scott says the sequel will pick up on that idea and draw inspiration from The Godfather Part II, where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is now the undisputed leader of organized crime and has to decide how far he’ll go to keep his crown.
“There’s already an idea,” Scott told The Hollywood Reporter. “I always had this idea that The Godfather ends with Michael not wanting the job. He sits there, and there’s this push-in on Al. He’s already had his hand kissed. He’s betrayed his wife with lies. [Lucius] isn’t quite that evil at all. He’s wondering, ‘Father, what do I do?’ Paul not wanting the job is a good place to start.”
Scott added to Premiere magazine, “The next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.” He also said to Total Film, “I’ve already got eight pages. I’ve got the beginning of a very good footprint” and added, “If there’s a Gladiator 3, I don’t think you’d ever go back into the arena. But I had to go back into the arena…”
Of course, any movie called Gladiator somehow has to figure out a way to return its hero to the arena. Even if Lucius becomes Emperor, being Emperor certainly didn’t keep the first film’s Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) from eventually stepping onto the sand.
For his part, Mescal has said he’s extremely willing to take on the role a second time “Oh yeah, massively down,” the actor said to Variety. “I don’t think it will be [24] years, but I have no idea when it will be.”
Scott also hinted that the first film’s Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), is a source of potential inspiration for Lucius’ story. While the character is portrayed rather benevolently in the first film, and Aurelius’ writings about stoicism have become rather fashionable as of late, Scott is rather critical of the historical figure. “You’ve got to include [Aurelius] alongside every demagogue today,” he said. “And I think he felt guilty about what he had done — hence his writings in Meditations.”
When THR asked Scott if he ever considered a different fate for any of his major characters in Gladiator II, the director said he hadn’t. “No,” the filmmaker said. “Lucius had to live. Mom [Connie Nielsen] had to go. The evil guy had to go.”
A sequel can’t happen too quickly, however, as the director is gearing up to helm a Bee Gees biopic in early 2025. But if recent years have shown anything, it’s that Scott is quite prolific and has no problem shifting gears to quickly tackle another project. For more, see THR‘s extended Q&A with Scott about Gladiator II and his five-decade filmmaking career and feature story going behind the scenes of the new film.
