In 2001 20th Century Fox bought Monahan's spec script "Tripoli", about William Eaton's epic march on Tripoli during the Barbary Wars, in a deal worth mid-six figures in American dollars, with Mark Gordon attached as producer. The script was given to Ridley Scott to direct. Monahan met with Scott to discuss "Tripoli", and Scott mentioned his desire to direct a film about knights. Monahan suggested the Crusades as a setting, reasoning that "you've got every conceivable plot imaginable there, which is far more exotic than fiction". Scott was captivated by Monahan's pitch and hired him to write the screenplay for "Kingdom of Heaven". "Tripoli" was eventually shelved, but Monahan retained ownership of the screenplay and therefore the right to consider new offers at a later date.