Though Ridley Scott has long been seen as the godfather of the ‘Alien’ movies and has been adding to the canon in recent years himself with the likes of ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Alien: Covenant’, he has never been afraid to hand it over to other directors, even if the results have been mixed.
Alvarez is apparently a huge fan of the movies that Scott helped launch way back in 1979 with the original ‘Alien’ and casually pitched a take to the director/producer that stuck in the elder filmmaker’s mind like an egg implanted in an unfortunate human’s chest.
According to 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell who spoke to the trade magazine, the company jumped at the idea “purely off the strength of Fede’s pitch. It was just a really good story with a bunch of characters you haven’t seen before.”
Dan O’Bannon wrote Scott’s original movie, a contained, haunted house horror story following the doomed crew of cargo spaceship Nostromo after they respond to a distress beacon and discover a mysterious creature that ends up laying eggs in and slaughtering most of them. Rude!
The survivor of that crew, Ripley, and the actress who played her, Sigourney Weaver, became the human face of the franchise when James Cameron directed sequel, ‘Aliens’, in 1986, developing it into an action movie that became a massive cultural hit.
Sigourney Weaver in 1986’s ‘Aliens.’
That was followed by David Fincher’s controversial, darker ‘Alien 3’ and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s stylish yet far-from-universally liked ‘Alien: Resurrection.’ Fox attempted to keep things chugging along in Ripley-free fashion with two movies pitting the xenomorphs versus the Predators, but it was Scott who moved back towards the original timeline with his prequels.
Alvarez is no stranger to adding to franchises (and finding new courses for them): he co-wrote and directed 2013’s ‘Evil Dead’ reboot and in 2018 made Lisbeth Salander movie ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’.
That sound you’re probably hearing (and yes, we’d guess it’ll be loud enough to hear it in space) is the “harrumph” from Neill Blomkamp fans after he worked up his own pitch for a new ‘Alien’ movie that would have featured Weaver’s character and more effectively following up ‘Aliens’ with a new story. Scott shot that one down and has instead embraced Alvarez’s take.
And that’s not the only new ‘Alien’-linked project in the works, as ‘Fargo’ TV developer Noah Hawley has a small screen story headed our way via cable network FX. That one is reportedly an Earthbound tale set before Ripley’s time.
With Disney’s former Fox arm 20th Century Studios now overseeing all these properties, the time was apparently right for a standalone that could fill part of the company’s brief to create movies for Hulu. How this will be received is still a mystery, though it’ll all hinge on how well Alvarez captures the feel of the movies while bringing something new.
1982’s ‘Blade Runner’ Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
With the sheer number of movies and TV series that Ridley Scott (through his Scott Free) company has in the works, you wonder when he finds the time to eat, sleep or see his family. And yet, the announcements just keep coming, with confirmation that Scott is one of the executive producers on a new, live-action TV expansion of his original ‘Blade Runner’ called Blade Runner 2099).
Silka Luisa, who has worked on shows including ‘Strange Angel’ (and has Elisabeth Moss-starring mystery thriller series ‘Shining Girls’ on the way) has been hired to run the series.
And, if this new project makes it out of development, Scott may direct at least the first couple of episodes, as he did with fellow sci-fi series ‘Raised by Wolves’ at HBO Max.
For the (very) who might be unfamiliar with the futuristic noir classic, 1982’s ‘Blade Runner’ is set in 2019 (well, it was futuristic in the 1980s) in a world where mankind can create “Replicants”. These bioengineered humanoids are employed for warfare or dangerous tasks but became a problem after an off-world mutiny by recent models who fled back to Earth.
Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, a “Blade Runner” law enforcer despatched to track down and eliminate troublesome replicants. But as he digs deeper into the issue, he discovers a much bigger conspiracy.
That first movie adapted Philip K. Dick’s 1968 book ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’, expanding on the concept, and painting a compelling, neon-drenched world that made it become a cult favorite, even if it didn’t set the box office on fire.
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Still, it was followed by 2017’s ‘Blade Runner 2049’, directed by ‘Dune’s Denis Villeneuve, and moved the story on 30 years. Ford returned as an older Deckard, and Ryan Gosling starred as Blade Runner (and replicant) K.
‘Blade Runner 2099’ as the title suggests, sets the clock ahead again, 50 years. No plot details have been revealed yet, though Scott told the BBC last year that that the pilot was already written and that a plan for an initial season of 10 episodes was being shopped around.
Surprisingly, given Scott’s existing connection to HBO and the fact that WarnerMedia has produced both movies, Amazon Studios was able to swoop in and seal the deal, putting it on the fast track through development (according to Deadline, the company’s Prime Video arm is already starting to look at potentially shooting it this year).
And this is not the only TV spin-off for Scott’s original film, either: anime series ‘Blade Runner: Black Lotus’, which is set in 2032 and features the voices of ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Jessica Yu Li Henwick and ‘Succession’s Brian Cox, arrived last year.
So, while neither ‘Blade Runner’ movie moved the needle in terms of box office, it’s clear there’s still plenty of interest in the idea.
(L to R) Jared Leto, Florence Andrews, Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, and Al Pacino in ‘House of Gucci’
Opening in theaters on November 24th is Oscar winning director Ridley Scott’s latest film, ‘House of Gucci,’ which chronicles the rise and fall of the Gucci family and the empire they created and lost. The movie features an incredible cast all delivering their best, including Lady Gaga (‘A Star is Born’), Adam Driver (‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’), Salma Hayek (‘Eternals’), and Academy Award winners Jared Leto (‘Dallas Buyers Club’), Jeremy Irons (‘Reversal of Fortune’) and Al Pacino (‘The Godfather’). The result is an over-sized movie with a strong story and truly winning performances from the cast including Gaga and Leto but suffers in the pacing and falls apart in the third act.
The film begins by introducing us to Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga), who works for her father’s trucking business in Italy. One night at a party, she meets Maurizio Gucci (Driver), the heir to the famous Italian luxury label dynasty. Patrizia is relentless in her pursuit of Maurizio, and eventually they fall in love, but he has no interest in his family’s business. Maurizio soon introduces Patrizia to his estranged father Rodolfo Gucci (Irons), who believes Patrizia just wants the Gucci money and forbids his son to marry her. After their wedding, the couple begin spending time with Rodolfo’s brother, Aldo Gucci (Pacino), who encourages Maurizio to join the family business, much to Patrizia’s delight. She then orchestrates a way for her husband to take over the company from Aldo, with the help of his incompetent cousin and Aldo’s son, Paolo (Leto). But Maurizio and Patrizia get greedy for power and betray Paolo in the process. Eventually, their marriage begins to fall apart, and the Gucci brand falls in financial trouble. Maurizio has an affair and leaves Patrizia, who turns to her psychic (Hayek) for help finding someone to murder her husband.
‘House of Gucci’ marks the second film directed this year by Oscar winner Ridley Scott after ‘The Last Duel.’ That’s a pretty amazing accomplishment for anyone, especially an eighty-three-year-old filmmaker. It’s no question that Ridley Scott is one of the greatest directors of his generation, with a resume that includes ‘Alien,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ ‘Thelma & Louise,’ and ‘Gladiator.’ But for every ‘Black Hawk Down’ or ‘The Martian’ there is a ‘Robin Hood’ or ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings,’ and the prolific director can be hit or miss to say the least. He’s taken a crack at the crime thriller genre before with mixed success, again, for every ‘American Gangster’ there is ‘The Counselor.’ But this time around, Scott scores pretty well by turning the Gucci family into the Corleone’s, and it works… for the most part.
However, the biggest issue I have with the film is the length, as it would have benefited from a tighter run time and better pacing towards the end. Since it is a true story, it can be easily googled, so trying to draw on the drama doesn’t really work because we know Patrizia will kill Maurizio in the end. Where the film, as well as Scott and the cast, shine is in setting up the inevitable and really diving into their relationship and the family business. Scott also sets the tone for the decadent 80s quite well with appropriate music like The Eurhythmics and Blondie, as well as the clothes, cars, and over-the-top lifestyles. Scott also has a sharp eye for performances, and he got stellar ones out of his four lead actors.
Jeremey Irons and Salma Hayek are both fine in the film, but have very small roles and honestly do not do a lot. I’m surprised actors of their caliber would even take roles that small, but undoubtfully it was just for the chance to work with the celebrated director. Al Pacino is very strong as Aldo Gucci and even though he does terrible things, you feel a great sympathy for him at the end, thanks to his performance. After a terrific performance in ‘The Irishman,’ it seems like the legendary actor has another chance at a Best Supporting nom this year. But the actor who is definitely getting a nomination for best supporting actor is Jared Leto for his transcending work as Paolo. The actor is completely unrecognizable, which the Academy loves, and his quite funny playing the sad and pathetic character. Much like Pacino, Leto draws on great sympathy from the audience for his bumbling character and creates a singular performance all to his own. I have no idea if the real Paolo Gucci looked anything like Leto does in the film, but the performance is original and fun.
Adam Driver and Lady Gaga in ‘House of Gucci’
Adam Driver gives an almost thankless performance in the film, playing opposite Lady Gaga, but he is definitely the anchor of the movie. Driver gives a quiet performance but is completely believable as a man with good intentions wrapped up in a world of greed and power. His accent is excellent, and he also gives a performance worthy of at least Oscar attention. But unfortunately for Driver, all eyes are on Lady Gaga, who shares almost every scene with Driver in the film and can’t help stealing most of them. Gaga gives a completely commanding performance as Patrizia and reminded me of Sharon Stone in ‘Casino.’ She creates a character that you understand and relate to, even if you can’t relate to many of her actions. It would be easy for the movie to paint Patrizia as a “gold digger,” but Gaga’s performance elevates that, so you really believe that she truly loved Maurizio, even if the money was also enticing. In my opinion, Lady Gaga is 2 for 2 after her performance in ‘A Star is Born,’ and deserves another nomination this year.
In the end, ‘House of Gucci’ is certainly no ‘Godfather,’ but it is a decent modern-day story about the rise and fall of a family empire filled with all the drama, passion, greed and betrayal that comes with it. Ridley Scott delivers a strong film that is too long and drags in the third act but is saved by top-notch performances from the accomplished cast, especially Lady Gaga and Jared Leto.
Since the November 2019 release of the music video “Heartless,” The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye a noted cinephile who has cited David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese as inspirations in the past, has crafted a deep cinematic narrative throughout the video elements of his fourth album After Hours. Along with the lyrical and visual narratives of the album itself, which tracks a man dubbed The Weeknd through a bad break-up, a hard look at his hedonistic lifestyle, and in the end some wistful wisdom as he starts to maybe group up a bit, the videos and live appearances to promote the album are also chock full of cinematic references. Take the title itself: After Hours evokes late night clubs, but from a cinematic point of view it immediately brings up visions of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 cult classic of the same name about a word processor named Paul who takes a late night trip to SoHo in New York City and can’t seem to ever get himself back home.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘After Hours’ (right)
Much like Paul, the videos find a man dubbed The Character (played of course by The Weeknd) in an endless journey through the darker parts of himself – and through a myriad of film references.
The Weeknd debuted his now signature red suit in the video for “Heartless,” directed by Anton Tammi, which itself is a reference to a suit worn by Robert De Niro in Scorsese’s 1995 film ‘Casino’. The video, shot in Las Vegas, features The Character and a friend (played by Metro Boomin) as they gallivant around Sin City, stumbling in a drug-induced haze like Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He even worked this stumble into his performance at the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blade Runner’ (right)
The video for his next single “Blinding Lights,” also directed by Tammi, there are even more film references. We see The Character steal a car and head back to Los Angeles, where, among other things, he dances in the 2nd Street Tunnel. This landmark of Los Angeles has been featured in countless films, including Ridley Scott’s 1982 film ‘Blade Runner.’ An adaptation of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (side note: the author is also referenced in the lyrics of “Snow Child,” with the line “give her Phillip K Dick”), the film is set in Los Angeles in November 2019 – the same month the video was released – and references to it will show up in a later video.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘The Dark Knight’ (right)
Much has been made of The Weeknd’s dancing throughout the promotion of After Hours being reminiscent of Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker,’ but in fact these videos are peppered with references to many cinematic Jokers, including the moment in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ where Heath Ledger gleefully hangs his head outside a stolen police car he’s driving.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Blue Velvet’ (right)
Much of the vibe throughout the music videos and live performances for After Hours have a Lynchian feel to them and in “Blinding Lights,” there is a direct reference to David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ where Dennis Hopper’s psychopath Frank Booth watches tormented torch singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) croon the titular song. In “Blinding Lights,” The Character is mesmerized by the musical stylings of an unnamed singer played by Miki Hamano, whose voice literally lifts him off the ground.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Twin Peaks’ (right)
We even get another hint of the Red Room from ‘Twin Peaks;’ in fact much of the eerie instrumental music that accompanies The Weeknd in the moments between videos and throughout the ‘After Hours’ short film have an Angelo Badalamenti vibe to them.
“Blinding Lights” (left) and ‘Joker’ (right)
Perhaps the most obvious reference in the video is his dancing, sometimes in the 2nd Street Tunnel, sometimes elsewhere throughout downtown Los Angeles, appears to be directly lifted from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker as he dances to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” as he makes his way to make his late night debut in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker.’
‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘The King of Comedy’ (right)
The After Hours short film, again directed by Tammi, takes place shortly after The Weeknd’s performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The video begins as his set ends, The Character grinning like Rupert Pupkin at the end of Martin Scorese’s ‘The King of Comedy’ – itself a huge influence of Todd Phillips’s ‘Joker.’
‘After Hours’ (left) and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (right)
Tesfaye has stated influences on the short film also include Adrian Lyne’s psychological horror film ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ which includes a scene where Tim Robbins is menaced by unknown forces in an empty subway station, Roman Polanki’s ‘Chinatown’ (the bandage on his nose), Claire Deni’s ‘Trouble Every Day,’ Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, and Brian De Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill.’
“In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘Dial M for Murder’ (right)
The video with possibly the most film references is “In Your Eyes,” in which The Character wordlessly stalks a young blonde woman à la Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween.’ The horror movie infused video has nods to everything from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ to Dario Argento’s Suspiria to Alfred Hitchcock. At one point the woman takes refuge in a phone booth – à la ‘The Birds’ – and dials for help. Tammi, uses an ultra close-up of the keys, an homage to ‘Dial M For Murder,’ in which Hitchcock blonde Grace Kelly’s husband Ray Milland has hired someone to murder her.
“In Your Eyes” (left) and ‘The Terminator’ (right)
The woman then flees to a club titled After Hours – which uses the exact same lightbulb font as the Tech Noir club in James Cameron’s ‘Terminator,’ an idea that came early in the creative ideation for the video.
The horror vibes continue in the video for “Too Late”, directed by Cliqua. After being decapitated at the end of the previous video, The Character’s head is found by two models on the side of the road. The world they inhabit feels akin to Nicholas Winding Refn’s psychological horror film ‘The Neon Demon,’ where the Los Angeles modeling scene is depicted as so bleak the models are literally eating each other alive. Tesfaye is a noted friend of director Refn.
“Too Late” (left) and ‘American Psycho’ (right)
When the two discover that the head belongs to The Weeknd, they concoct a nefarious plan to bring him back to life. Laying newspapers on their floor and donning clear plastic rain gear à la Mary Harron’s adaption of Bret Easton Ellis’s yuppie black comedy American Psycho, the girls lure an unsuspecting male stripper (Ken XY) to their home in order to murder him and place The Character’s head on his body. Spooky.
“Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (right)
In the most recent video, “Save Your Tears” again directed by Cliqua, The Character is now performing for a masked crowd straight out of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ After appearing at the American Music Awards with a fully bandaged face like the models, his face has now clearly been marred by plastic surgery (looking quite a bit like Jocelyn Wildenstein aka the Tiger Woman of NYC).
“Save Your Tears” (left) and ‘Batman’ (right)
As the video ends, there is one last Joker reference – this time with Jack Nicholson’s iteration. In the climax of Tim Burton’s ‘Batman,’ he pulls a gun on himself after forcing Vicki Vale (Kim Basigner) to dance with him. Like Nicholson’s Joker, when he pulls the trigger there’s no bullet; The Character’s gun shoots confetti, just like the Joker’s gun pops out a flag.
Since these are just a few of the many references found throughout the music videos for After Hours (and in fact most of his music videos going back a decade), it’s only a matter of time before The Weeknd makes a feature film himself, or at least drops a link to his Letterboxd profile.
The pieces are starting to fall in place for “The Last Duel,” and we like what’s emerged.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are teaming up again, and famed filmmaker Ridley Scott is involved. Affleck and Damon are writing the screenplay with Nicole Holofcener, and Scott will direct, according to a new Deadline report. The publications source’s say that Damon and Affleck intend to star as well.
The project is based on Eric Jager’s 2004 book “The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France.” It centers on two friends who will be played by Damon and Affleck: the knight Jean de Carrouges and the squire Jacques Le Gris. When Carrouges returns from war and accuses Le Gris of raping his wife, Maguerite, a duel to the death is set up to settle the conflict.
The three co-writers are reportedly close to finishing the script. Incidentally, it’s the first time Damon and Affleck have teamed up on a screenplay since they wrote “Good Will Hunting” (and won an Academy Award for it), as Deadline notes. They have reunited on other projects in the interim, though, such as the documentary series “Project Greenlight” and different films in Kevin Smith‘s View Askewniverse. Meanwhile, “The Last Duel” is a reunion for Damon and Scott as well, as they worked together on “The Martian.”
Scott and Kevin Walsh are producing for Scott Free, while Damon and Affleck produce via Pearl Street.
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.”
It’s now been 40 years since “Alien” hit theaters and kicked off one of the most popular sci-fi movie franchises of all time. From the unexpected downsides of the Xenomorph costume to the Hollywood stars who almost appeared in the movie, here are 15 things you might not have known about the making of “Alien.”
1. The original screenplay featured the title “Star Beast,” but writer Dan O’Bannon decided “Alien” was more effective and direct.
2. Harrison Ford was originally offered the role of Captain Dallas but turned down the part.
Warner Bros.
3. According to director Ridley Scott, Meryl Streep was also strongly considered for the role of Ripley and may well have been cast if not for the sudden death of her partner, John Cazale.
4. Jon Finch was originally cast as Kane, but had to drop out on the first day of filming due to complications from diabetes.
20th Century Fox
5.H.R. Giger‘s original Xenomorph design included visible eyes, but this was removed in order to give the creature a more inhuman appearance. Scott also purposely avoided filming the Xenomorph straight-on, in order to emphasize its terrifying nature.
6. In order to create the set for the Xenomorph egg chamber, the crew borrowed a set of laser lights from The Who, who were rehearsing on a nearby sound stage.
20th Century Fox
7. The facehugger was originally meant to be painted green, but O’Bannon liked the stark, humanoid look of the unpainted puppet and chose to leave it as-is.
8. Many of the gore effects were achieved by using raw animal parts, including cattle hearts and sheep intestines. That helped fuel the actors’ genuine reaction of fear during the infamous chestburster scene.
20th Century Fox
9. The names for the Nostromo crew members were chosen in part because they’re gender-neutral. None of the characters have a specified gender in the screenplay.
10. The crew had to design a special swing for actor Bolaji Badejo because his Xenomorph costume made it impossible to sit down in between takes.
20th Century Fox
11. One of the early shots of the interior of the Nostromo features a coffee grinder hanging on a wall. That prop was later used to create the Mr. Fusion engine in “Back to the Future.”
12. Most of the creatures models had to be repainted every single day due to the corrosive effects of the slime used to coat them.
13. The Space Jockey prop measured a full 26 feet tall. Unfortunately, it was accidentally destroyed when a discarded cigarette set it on fire.
20th Century Fox
14. One of the many deleted scenes from “Alien” features Ripley and Dallas having casual sex as a way of relieving the boredom of their journey. Scott eventually re-purposed that idea for 2012’s “Prometheus.”
15. The Xenomorph only appears on-screen for a total of four minutes in the theatrical cut.
A drama club brought an adaptation of Ridley Scott‘s “Alien” to their high school stage, and even the director himself was impressed.
Scott saw footage from “Alien: The Play” online, and he decided to let them know. He wrote a letter to the North Bergen High School Drama Club, praising their “creativity, imagination and determination to produce such an ambitious show.” Scott also saw it as a teachable moment and told them to “stay with this determination, and this spirit in everything you do, and you will succeed.”
Scott’s film, “Alien,” which starred Tom Skerritt and Sigourney Weaver, would certainly be a hard one to turn into a play. The film had such great special effects that it won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Yet still the students made do. Watch some of what they came up with below:
At the end of “Prometheus,” it seemed like sole human survivor Noomi Rapace was going to carry on the franchise, the way Sigourney Weaver had done before her.
Speaking to HN Entertainment, creature designer Carlos Huante sheds some light on what Rapace’s original role was supposed to be.
In the first version of the “Prometheus” sequel, Shaw would have been alive and actually becomes friends with David (Michael Fassbender).
In the first version of what was called ‘Paradise/Prometheus 2,’ Shaw was alive. She was hiding in the catacombs from David under the city and the story was that on her trip to the homeworld she got lonely and she had David hanging outside the ship, she didn’t want anything to do with him. But she still had to talk to him. Eventually, she ends up bringing his body in and reattaching him as they become friends during this trip.
So they end up going to the city and that’s when David looks at her and tells that story ‘Do you trust me, do you trust that I love you and everything I’m going to do from this point on is because of you and that’s all to protect you’…she looks at him and says, ‘Okay, yes I do,’ so then he turns around and kills all the Engineers on the planet. It’s his own twisted way of vengeance for her, he kills the planet. She is like ‘Hey, I wanted to talk to these people,’ but too late the whole planet is polluted now and everyone on the planet dies.”
That whole plotline was ditched when the film was put on hold due to a scheduling conflict with Fassbender.
Huante says, “I think it was a studio call as to why [Rapace] didn’t return. What a shame.”
He’s also disappointed some of his designs for a “pitbull kind of alien dog named ‘Bug’” and David-designed “meerkats” with razor-sharp teeth didn’t make it to the final film.
“They kind of watered down that film…they didn’t want it to become a monster movie and I thought it was going to be a little more fantastic and they brought it down to a more terrestrial environment which I thought looked too conventional in the design of the environment.”
As for what comes next in the franchise, Huante admits:
“I have no idea where it’s going anymore… I think they’re doing a TV show or something right now. Nobody has called me about that even though I have no confidence that TV could pull something like that off I’d still like to work on it because that world is a fun place to play around in.”
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.
