Ridley Scott’s plans for his ‘Gladiator’ follow-up just keep getting more and more interesting. Especially in terms of the casting, which is blending rising stars with established names.
And the latest update? Deadline reports that Connie Nielsen is heading back to Ancient Rome to reprise the role of Lucilla, while ‘Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn is joining her to play a character new to the story, that of Caracalla.
The original film, of course, followed Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe), who is betrayed by the sniveling, corrupt Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and ends up in the gladiatorial games, from where he plots his revenge for the murder of his family.
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What is the story of ‘Gladiator 2’?
Little is known about the plot for the movie so far as Scott is keeping his cards close to his chest.
But here’s what we know so far…
Crowe has already said he’s not in the new movie, and that makes sense: short of CG-enhanced flashbacks, it’s unlikely, since the character died in the original and went to a lush heavenly zone to reunite with his slaughtered family The story, instead, spins the clock forward a few years and follows ‘Aftersun’ star Paul Mescal as Lucius.
He, you may recall, was the son of Lucilla and the nephew of Commodus, the son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius who murdered his father and seized the throne. Commodus wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus who, though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great. Maximus saved the Lucius and Lucilla while avenging his own family and left a strong impression on the young boy.
Quite what Lucius is up to in the new film remains to be seen, but there’s a chance he’ll be ending up in the arena himself, especially since Mescal has reportedly been training for the role.
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan, meanwhile, is apparently playing the primary antagonist, Roman Emperor Geta (a fictional take on a real-life ruler). We can certainly see Keoghan as a Commodus-style troublemaker.
As for Quinn’s character, he’s a mystery for now, so we don’t know if he’ll be a heroic leader or a villainous schemer. Or both!
And that’s without mentioning the other big star draw for the new movie –– ‘Gladiator 2’ also marks Scott’s reunion with ‘American Gangster’s Denzel Washington, though again his role is being kept quiet beyond it being described as “bad-ass”. Seems fitting…
Scott has the original movie’s costume designer Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max, along with cinematographer John Mathieson. Filming should be kicking off shortly, if it hasn’t already –– after all, the director probably has three more movies lined up to make this year on his current prolific run.
He already has ‘Napoleon’ (coincidentally starring Joaquin Phoenix) due in theaters on November 22nd ahead of streaming on Apple TV+.
(Right) Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator.’
Russell Crowe as Father Gabriele Amorth in Sony Pictures ‘The Pope’s Exorcist.’
Oscar winner Russell Crowe is one of the most accomplished actors of his generation.
From his breakout roles in movies like ‘Romper Stomper’ and ‘L.A. Confidential,’ to his career making performances in ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and ‘Gladiator,’ Crowe as appeared in some of the most acclaimed films of the last 25 years.
In honor of his latest film, ‘The Pope’s Exorcist,’ which opens in theaters on April 14th, Moviefone is counting down the 25 best movies of Russell Crowe’s career.
Though safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen (Sofia Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.
After his retirement is interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a galactic killer who seeks the extinction of the gods, Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who now wields Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor. Together they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
When soldier Robin (Crowe) happens upon the dying Robert of Loxley (Douglas Hodge), he promises to return the man’s sword to his family in Nottingham. There, he assumes Robert’s identity; romances his widow, Marion (Cate Blanchett); and draws the ire of the town’s sheriff (Matthew Macfadyen) and King John’s (Danny Huston) henchman, Godfrey (Mark Strong).
In feudal China, a blacksmith (RZA) who makes weapons for a small village is put in the position where he must defend himself and his fellow villagers.
The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID (Crowe) version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers, and only one man can stop him.
Failed London banker Max Skinner (Crowe) inherits his uncle’s (Albert Finney) vineyard in Provence, where he spent many childhood holidays. Upon his arrival, he meets a woman (Marion Cotillard) from California who tells Max she is his long-lost cousin and that the property is hers.
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man (Henry Cavill), he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.
A married couple’s life is turned upside down when the wife (Elizabeth Banks) is accused of murdering her boss. Her husband John (Crowe) would spend the next few years trying to get her released, but there’s no evidence that negates the evidence against her. When the strain of being separated from her husband and son gets to her, John decides to find a way to break her out.
The CIA’s hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the agency’s man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. An eye in the sky – a satellite link – watches Ferris. At the other end of that real-time link is the CIA’s Ed Hoffman (Crowe), strategizing events from thousands of miles away. And as Ferris nears the target, he discovers trust can be just as dangerous as it is necessary for survival.
A yearly high-stakes poker game between childhood friends turns into chaos when the tech billionaire host (Crowe) unveils an elaborate scheme to seek revenge for the ways they’ve betrayed him over the years. But as his plans unfold, a group of thieves hatch plans of their own breaking into the mansion thinking it is empty. The old friends quickly band together and the years of playing the game help them win their way through a night of terror.
In a broken city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure, the mayor (Crowe). Billy’s relentless pursuit of justice, matched only by his streetwise toughness, makes him an unstoppable force – and the mayor’s worst nightmare.
Nazi skinheads in Melbourne take out their anger on local Vietnamese, who are seen as threatening racial purity. Finally the Vietnamese have had enough and confront the skinheads in an all-out confrontation, sending the skinheads running. A woman (Jacqueline McKenzie) who is prone to epileptic seizures joins the skins’ merry band, and helps them on their run from justice, but is her affliction also a sign of impurity?
An adaptation of the successful stage musical based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel set in 19th-century France, in which a paroled prisoner named Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) seeks redemption.
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock (Crowe) who, in the 1920s following his retirement, makes a surprise comeback in order to get him and his family out of a socially poor state.
Alice (Meg Ryan) hires a professional negotiator (Crowe) to obtain the release of her engineer husband (David Morse), who has been kidnapped by anti-government guerrillas in South America.
John Nash (Crowe) is a brilliant but asocial mathematician fighting schizophrenia. After he accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.
After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain (Crowe) of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship’s thoughtful surgeon (Paul Bettany), his best friend.
Tells the true story of a 60 Minutes television series exposé of the tobacco industry, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe).
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans (Christian Bale), struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the “3:10 to Yuma”, a train that will take the killer to trial.
Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III), Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. Partly based on a true story.
Three detectives (Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey) in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus (Crowe) is one of the Roman army’s most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus’ devious son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
After years existing mostly as rumor about developments, Ridley Scott’s long-gestating sequel to 2000’s epic ‘Gladiator’ is turning into a truly exciting prospect because of the cast the director has been building.
There is no word yet on who Washington will be playing in the new film, but the picky performer apparently had his interested piqued by the script, which features a reportedly “bad-ass” role for the actor. A follow-up meeting with Scott helped convince him further, and Washington is now locking in the final details of his deal to co-star alongside Paul Mescal and other recent new recruit Barry Keoghan.
Russell Crowe in ‘Gladiator’ (Photo by Karine Weinberger/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
How does the new movie follow ‘Gladiator’?
While Maximus isn’t likely to show up –– short of CG-enhanced flashbacks since the character died in the original and went to a lush heavenly zone to reunite with his slaughtered family –– the story for the new movie, written by David Scarpa, follows Mescal as Lucius.
He, you may recall, was the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius who murdered his father and seized the throne. Commodus wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus who, though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great. Maximus saved the Lucius and Lucilla while avenging his own family and left a strong impression on the young boy.
Quite what Lucius is up to in the new film remains to be seen, but there’s a chance he’ll be ending up in the arena himself, especially since Mescal has reportedly been training for the role.
Keoghan, meanwhile, is apparently playing the primary antagonist, Roman Emperor Geta (a fictional take on a real-life ruler). We can certainly see Keoghan as a Commodus-style troublemaker.
This is real progress for Scott, who is looking to work with both fresh talent and experienced performers (and behind the scenes, he’s recruited the original movie’s costume designer Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max).
Both Mescal and Keoghan scored Oscar nominations this past year, Mescal for his nuanced take on a father in ‘Aftersun’, and Keoghan for his funny, sweet role in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’.
Scott will need the top talent available, since ‘Gladiator’ is quite the classic to follow up. The first movie earned more than $460 million at the worldwide box office (back in the year 2000, don’t forget) and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning five including Best Actor for Russell Crowe and Best Picture.
It also has a big following, with plenty of fans wondering what shape a sequel might take. We’ll find out on November 22nd, 2024, when it hits theaters.
(Right) Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator.’
(Right) Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator.’
Ridley Scott is hoping you’ll be entertained all over again, as he’s now fully gearing up to make the sequel to 2000 epic ‘Gladiator’.
It has been a long (Roman) road to a sequel, with chatter about it popping up from time to time through the years and mentions of scripts having been bashed out.
The movie is much closer to happening now, with a current draft of the screenplay by David Scarpa, who previously wrote ‘All the Money in the World’ for the director.
Scott, who seems to become more prolific as he ages, has most recently been working on a movie about ‘Napoleon,’ starring Joaquin Phoenix, has decided that the time and the script is right to revisit the world of ‘Gladiator’, and Irish actor Paul Mescal is reportedly his choice for the lead role.
The original, as you may well know, starred Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a successful general in the Roman army who was betrayed by incoming Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) when the military man refused to swear allegiance to Commodus.
Exiled, his family murdered, he ended up a gladiator, rising through the ranks in the area until he was able to confront Commodus himself. But––and spoiler alert for a nearly 23-year-old film––while he was able to kill the sneering Emperor, it came at the cost of his own life. Which means that Crowe won’t be showing up in the sequel unless he’s become some sort of advisory ghost.
Paul Mescal from an exclusive interview with Moviefone for A24’s ‘God’s Creatures.’
According to Deadline, Mescal is now top choice to play Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who now is a grown man as the story takes place years after the first film ended. Lucius was also the nephew of Commodus (Phoenix), the son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius ( who murdered his father seized the throne and wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus — who, though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great beyond to reunite with his slain wife and son. Maximus saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family and left a strong impression on the young Lucius.
Mescal feels like a fine choice to play the grown Lucius, having shown the dramatic chops to carry a role such as this and the muscular physique the role might demand.
And though he hasn’t gravitated towards big studio projects––since ‘Normal People’ sent his star rising, he’s also appeared in the likes of indie drama ‘God’s Creatures’––working with Scott is something few actors would turn down.
Deadline’s report also includes mention that the actor had a great meeting with Scott about the role and though he was one of the first considered, he’s stuck in the director’s mind and a deal is now being hammered out for him to star.
Scott will reunite with the first film’s costume designer, Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max. And while Universal and DreamWorks were behind the first film, Paramount is backing this one––though Universal has an option to jump aboard if the studio chooses.
Paul Mescal as Brian O’Hara in A24’s ‘God’s Creatures.’
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Since the sequel to 2000’s “Gladiator” is coming 20 years after the Best Picture Oscar winner, it only makes sense that it will be set at least 20 years after Maximus (Russell Crowe) faced down Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) in the Coliseum.
Producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald told HeyUGuys that the sequel is very much in the works: “It picks up the story 30 or 25 years later,” Parkes said, adding, “We’re working with Ridley [Scott]. That’s one we wouldn’t touch unless we felt in a way to do it was legitimate. We’re working with an amazing writer as well, Peter Craig.”
Per Deadline’s November 2018 article: “Gladiator 2” will follow the character of Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and nephew of power-mad Commodus, who was played in the original film by Spencer Treat Clark. Lucius looked up to Maximus as a lad (and witnessed his death), so for him to follow in his hero’s footsteps seems fitting.
Clark is now 31 and could easily reprise the role, although it’s not clear if the producers are looking to hire someone else. Clark just reprised another role from 2000 in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass,” the sequel to “Unbreakable.”
His other recent credits include the TNT series “Animal Kingdom,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
The director of the multi-Academy Award-winning film has started developing a sequel, Deadline reports. He is looking to helm “Gladiator 2,” with Peter Craig (“12 Strong”) writing the script.
The original film saw protagonist Maximus (Russell Crowe) meet a tragic end, as Deadline points out, so there will be a new lead character. The sequel will follow Lucius (played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original), who was the young boy Maximus saved during his quest for vengeance. Lucius was the son of the late co-emperor Lucius Verus and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen).
Scott has been talking about a “Gladiator” sequel for years now, and in fact, he previously said it might be possible to involve Crowe. “I know how to bring him back. … There is a way,” he told EW in March 2017. So far, though, it doesn’t look like Crowe will return.
Paramount is reportedly the studio behind the project, with Universal potentially co-financing. The original film’s distributor, DreamWorks, is not involved. Meanwhile, Scott is producing through his production company, Scott Free, alongside Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon and Parkes + MacDonald’s Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald.
Want to own a piece of Russell Crowe‘s movie history?
The actor is auctioning off items including a chariot from “Gladiator,” a tunic worn in “Robin Hood,” and — oh look — a leather jockstrap he wore in the period boxing film “Cinderella Man.”
Among the more than 200 items you can bid on: an aluminum prop sword and spare blade used by Crowe in “Gladiator”s famous tiger fight scene. Also on the auction block: the black leather wrist cuffs he wore as he shouted “Are you not entertained?”
It’s all part of “Russell Crowe: The Art of Divorce” auction being held April 7 by Sotheby’s Australia in Sydney. That’s a significant date for the actor: It’s both his birthday and his wedding anniversary. He married actress Danielle Spencer in 2003 and the two separated in 2012.
The aluminium prop sword and spare blade used by Crowe in the filming of Gladiator’s tiger fight scene are also up for grabs, as are a wooden training sword and black leather wrist cuffs. Another unusual lot comes in the form of a crotch protector from Crowe’s 2005 film Cinderella Man, as well as a pair of boxing boots he also wore during the film.
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/russell-crowe-auction-gladiator-chariot-sothebys-australia-divorce-auctionCrowe married actress Danielle Spencer in xxx. He says they’ve been separated for the last five and a half years.
As Crowe told “Good Morning Britain,” these possessions “started to feel heavy… I was looking for a way to bounce that into something more positive so this is what I came up with.”
He shares he came up with the idea after “a couple of vodkas in the middle of the desert.”
Among the other things you can buy from Crowe’s movies:
A baseball bat from “The Insider” signed by Al Pacino and other cast members
Screen Junkies better hope Russell Crowe doesn’t have a phone handy after this withering (but hilarious) Honest Trailer for “Gladiator.”
To be fair, the entire early ’00s are dragged, but even Crowe’s real-life band has an unflattering cameo in this takedown.
“Watch Max take on every challenge in his life with calm, stoic acceptance; calm, stoic dirt-rubbing; or calm stoic wheat-petting, in this one-note performance that won him Best Actor. … But damn if that one-note doesn’t get me pumped!”
But “off-putting weirdo” Joaquin Phoenix gets the best critique:
“Witness one of the most disturbing performances ever, as the evil emperor shows off his many daddy issues, sister issues, and … nephew issues? Ew. He’s basically Jaime Lannister if he couldn’t fight, or command an army, or bang his sister, or really do anything else right.”
They still love the movie, though, and allow that the confusing mix of real and fake history is still 100 times more real than “300.”
Watch the trailer:Not gonna lie: “Why is a goat there?!” earned itself an LOL.
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Whenever you feel the need for speed — or say, the need to see a gladiator fighting a tiger — Netflix has got your back.
We rounded up the best action movies available to stream now, put them in a room and sat back while they duked it out with samurai swords, bows-and-arrows and baseball bats.
The surviving 29 films include Best Picture Winners “Braveheart” and “Gladiator,” action classics with Steve McQueen and several terrific Asian martial-arts movies.
Want to own a piece of 
Screen Junkies better hope 