Gladiator 2 is an upcoming epic historical drama directed by Ridley Scott. Serving as a sequel to Gladiator (2000), the film was written by David Scarpa, and stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, and Derek Jacobi, the last three reprising their roles. It will be produced by Scott Free Productions for Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.

Gladiator 2 is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 22, 2024.

Premise 
After being saved by Maximus in Gladiator, Lucius, the nephew of Commodus, is now a grown man.

Cast 
 Paul Mescal as Lucius. He was previously portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark in Gladiator.
 Denzel Washington
 Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, the mother of Lucius.
 Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus, a member of the Roman Senate.
 Djimon Hounsou as Juba, a former gladiator.
 Joseph Quinn as co-emperor Caracalla
 Fred Hechinger as co-emperor Geta
 Pedro Pascal
 May Calamawy
 Lior Raz
 Peter Mensah
 Matt Lucas

Production

Development
In June 2001, developments for a Gladiator follow-up began in the form of potential for either a prequel or a sequel, with David Franzoni in early negotiations to once again serve as screenwriter. The following year, a sequel was announced to be moving forward with John Logan serving as screenwriter. The plot, set fifteen years later, included the Praetorian Guards rule Rome and an older-aged Lucius searching for the truth about his biological father. Franzoni signed on as producer, alongside Douglas Wick and Walter Parkes. In December 2002, the film's plot was announced to include prequel events regarding the parentage of Lucius, as well as sequel events depicting the resurrection of Maximus. Producers and Russell Crowe collaboratively researched extensively, ancient Roman beliefs regarding the afterlife. By September 2003, Ridley Scott announced that the script was completed, while confirming that the story would primarily center around the secret son of Maximus, being Lucius.

In May 2006, Scott stated that while development on the project continues, the exact story to the film has yet to be figured out. The filmmaker stated that all creative minds that were involved with Gladiator, are working on how to continue from where the story left off. Scott stated that Crowe had favored a fantasy element with bringing Maximus back to life, while saying that he believed a grounded historical-fiction approach was the better option. While he believes the film will not be made, he confirmed the plan to reveal that Lucius is the son of Maximus and Lucilla while comparing the necessity of a more complex script with the corruption of Rome in the potential sequel. During this time, Nick Cave was commissioned to write a new draft of the script. It was later revealed to be written under the working title of "Christ Killer". Cave described the plot as a "deities vs. deity vs. humanity" story. The premise involved Maximus in purgatory, who is resurrected as an immortal eternal warrior for the Roman gods. In the draft, Maximus is sent to Earth and tasked with stopping the momentum of Christianity by killing Jesus Christ and His disciples, as their movement was gradually siphoning off the power and vitality of the ancient Pagan gods. During his tasked mission, Maximus is tricked into murdering his own son. Cursed to live forever, Cave's script included Maximus fighting amongst the Crusades, WWII, and the Vietnam War; with the ending revealing that in the modern-day time period, the character now works at The Pentagon. The script was ultimately rejected and scrapped.

After experiencing financial difficulties in the 2000s, DreamWorks Pictures - including the rights to Gladiator and the rest of the pre-2006 live-action film library - was sold to Paramount Pictures in 2006 and development on the sequel was halted. In March 2017, Scott revealed that the difficulties of reintroducing Maximus, when the character is deceased, had been resolved. The filmmaker expressed enthusiasm for the future of the project, while discussions with Russell Crowe to reprise his role were ongoing. In November 2018, it was announced that Paramount was officially green-lighting the development of a sequel. Scott was in early-negotiations to once again serve as director, with a script written by Peter Craig. Scott will additionally serve as producer alongside Doug Wick, Lucy Fisher, Walter Parkes, and Laurie MacDonald. The project will be a joint-venture production between Paramount, Scott Free Productions, and Parkes/MacDonald Productions with Universal Pictures as a co-financing partner. By June 2019, producers stated: "...we wouldn't touch unless we felt in a way to do it was legitimate." In their interview, they also revealed that the current script takes place 25–30 years after the first film. The plot will center around Lucius.

In April 2021, Chris Hemsworth approached Crowe with a proposal to become involved with the project, with intention to co-produce the film. While working together on Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), the two actors shared additional ideas for the film. By September 2021, Scott stated that the script was once again being worked on with his intention being to direct the sequel upon the completion of production on his current project, Napoleon. In November, it was revealed that David Scarpa, who worked with Scott on Napoleon, was rewriting the script.

Pre-production
In January 2023, Paul Mescal was cast in the film, while it was also reported that Arthur Max and Janty Yates, the production designer and costume designer of the original film, respectively, would also be returning to work on the sequel. Austin Butler, Richard Madden, and Miles Teller had also been considered for the lead role. Mescal was chosen after Daria Cercek and Michael Ireland had seen his performance in the West End revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, claiming that the "ladies in the audience [had been] very vocal" when he had taken his shirt off. In March, Barry Keoghan entered negotiations to join the cast in the role of Emperor Geta; while Denzel Washington joined the cast. Additionally, John Mathieson was set to return as cinematographer for the film.

In April 2023, it was announced that Connie Nielsen and Djimon Hounsou would reprise their roles as Lucilla and Juba respectively, while Joseph Quinn was added to the cast as Emperor Caracalla. In May 2023, Pedro Pascal, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah and Matt Lucas joined the cast of the film, with Fred Hechinger entering negotiations to play Geta after Keoghan had to drop out over scheduling conflicts. Jacobi reprises his role as Senator Gracchus from the first film. Hechinger would be confirmed the following month.

Filming
Production was expected to begin in May 2023, with Ouarzazate, Morocco set as a filming location. Set construction began in the city in April. Filming began in June 2023 with additional filming locations planned for Malta and the United Kingdom over the following four months. An accident involving fire during filming on June 7 injured six crew members. Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

The production received nearly €47 million in film incentive rebates from Malta, setting a record the largest rebate issued for a film production in the European Union.

Release 
Gladiator 2 is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 22, 2024.

References

External links
 

2024 action drama films
2020s adventure films
2020s American films
2020s British films
2020s English-language films
2020s historical drama films
American action drama films
American epic films
American films about revenge
American historical drama films
American sequel films
British action drama films
British epic films
British films about revenge
British historical drama films
British sequel films
Cultural depictions of Lucilla
Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Films directed by Ridley Scott
Films produced by Ridley Scott
Films set in 2nd-century Roman Empire
Films shot in Malta
Films shot in Morocco
Films shot in the United Kingdom
Films with screenplays by David Scarpa
Historical epic films
Paramount Pictures films
Scott Free Productions films
Universal Pictures films
Upcoming English-language films
Upcoming sequel films