A sequel to the Oscar-winning 2000 film Gladiator had become somewhat of an urban myth. For years, talk of a strange follow-up to the historical epic were said to see Russell Crowe's character Maximus Decimus Meridius reincarnate in various major wars across history. At one point, musician Nick Cave wrote his own screenplay to the story. But it was never believed to ever happen (though Crowe himself said he would like to). Now, apparently, director Ridley Scott himself has confirmed that a sequel is in fact being written and will be his next project after his upcoming Napoleon epic Kitbag. His exact quote (via The Playlist) was as follows:
“I’m already having [the next] Gladiator written now. So when I’ve done [Kitbag], Gladiator will be ready to go.”
Scott has two projects being released this year. The first will be The Last Duel and the second will be House of Gucci, with the lead actress of the former, Jodie Comer, having been recently confirmed to be reteaming with Scott to play Napoleon's wife in Kitbag. That project will see Joaquin Phoenix as the famous French military leader. Though it's interesting that Scott finally is committing to a Gladiator sequel and will be more interesting if the sequel features the time jump concept. Stay tuned!