Irrepressible filmmaker Ridley Scott is already planning Gladiator 3, not to mention sharing details with the press in his usual unfiltered style.
As Gladiator 2 moves closer to release, we can’t decide if we’re more excited for the film or for Ridley Scott’s press tour. Will the veteran director scale up the unfiltered nature of his comments to match the unrivalled scale of the film? If so, it might even be the latter (but rest assured we’re very much here for the former too).
Gladiator 2 doesn’t release until November but Scott is already in fine form, sharing things with the press that will surely reduce an army of studio publicists into a state of sweaty paralysis. Today’s reveal is not only that he’s working on Gladiator 3, but that the film will continue on from Gladiator 2 and once again pick up events with a key character from that film.
Speaking to Premiere, Scott said: ‘No, seriously! I lit the fuse… The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone ending up with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘What now, Father, what do I do? “So the next [movie] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.’
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There are several choices for who that character might be and we aren’t revealing anything more in the interests of spoiler avoidance. Rest assured, though, Scott certainly does reveal it in the interview, should you be interested. Other filmmakers would probably have waited at least until the film had been out for a while before choosing to deploy this information, but Ridley Scott isn’t other filmmakers. He’s a national treasure and we can’t wait to see what other glorious nuggets his upcoming press tour brings.
Gladiator 2 releases in November and is already the subject of some wild speculation including Oscar buzz, box office projections and talk of baboons. Paul Mescal stars and Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen are in supporting roles.
