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Ridley Scott’s much-awaited sequel to his Oscar-winning 2000 film has fans anticipating the celebrated director’s mass spectacle.Gladiator 2will feature the Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal and his journey as an older Lucius who discovers his royal patronage.
However, fans of the original movie would be shocked to know that Scott once contemplated bringing his older hero back. Years ago, the director had envisioned a script for the sequel in which he planned to bring Russell Crowe back from the dead, a daring concept. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out, but he didn’t give up on his dreams for the sequel for years to come.
Alive but not quite so?: The scrapped draft
Fans have been anxiously waiting for the release ofGladiator 2for years now. The movie went through several iterations before being finalized. DirectorRidley Scotthad been working on a sequel for his 2001 Best Picture-winner film for decades until he found the desired script andPaul Mescal.
On the contrary, while on a press tour for the upcoming film, Scott unveiled a shocking truth. An earlier script for a potentialGladiatorsequel was almost in development and it could have broughtRussell Croweback.
Nick Cave was writing the script, of course, I was writing in tandem with Nick. Problem is that Russell was dead and so I had worked out how to bring back somebody from the dead, so you got to find a portal.
Talking toJake HamiltononJake’s Takes, the Academy Award-winning director revealed his cherished draft for the movie. He, along withNick Cave,planned to somehow bring Crowe’s Maximus back and it had to do with the mystical River Styx from Greek mythology.
I thought the only way of bringing him back from the dead is to bring him back in battle through a dying warrior. So you come back as a dying warrior. I said, ‘ The only problem is Russell the dying warrior can’t be you’.
The original draft mentioned River Styx which according to the myth forms a boundary between the land of the living and the dead. Souls stand before this mythical river to wait for the boatman Charon to drive them into the afterlife after paying a minimal fee. The plan was to bring back Maximum’s soul from this magical land of the underworld.
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He had everything figured out except the fact that another actor would have to portray the consciousness of the back-from-dead Maximus. That plan didn’t work out as Crowe wouldn’t essentially be back onscreen and it would just be his character’s spirit that would return.
This could have been a Supernatural take on the epic
Earlier theHouse of Guccidirector spoke about his unique take on a potential sequel for an issue of Empire magazine(via Slash Film). The director always planned to somehow bring his original hero back and this 2017 idea could have worked out.
I had this one good idea, a very comic-strippy idea. I’m very much a comic-strip kind of person. I thought, if we find in bloodshed and war that a dying warrior becomes the portal for Maximus to come back from the dead, how about that?
This idea dates back to 2006, just a few years after the parent film was released and shook the audiences. Their plan was to showcase Maximus, awaiting Charon on the shore of the River Styx, implementing a darker supernatural tone for the epic.
I don’t mean he comes back through his mouth, but I’d devise a way to bring him back from the dead. […] But that didn’t go down too well with the nobs. They thought it was ridiculous.
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Unfortunately, this bold take on the otherwise historical war drama didn’t go well with the investors and producers. In the end, the intriguing plotline was abandoned and the director had to let go of the idea of Maximus’ return from the underworld.
Gladiator IIis scheduled to hit the theatres on 03 August 2025.
Shruti Pathak
Articles Published :286
An entertainment writer with a passion for storytelling that transcends genres, Shruti Pathak is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in English. She is also a devoted poetry enthusiast, exploring the beauty of language and emotion through verse. Obsessed with the show Friends, a self-proclaimed swiftie, and inspired by classical literature these are just some characteristics that describe the novice writer. Newly joining FandomWire as an intern writer, she hopes to share her thoughts while sharpening her writing skills on various entertainment topics.
