Ridley Scott explains how Steven Spielberg contributed to the original Gladiator II script being discarded. After Gladiator became a critical and commercial success upon its theatrical release in 2000, it took more than two decades for a sequel to come to fruition. THE Gladiator II The story released in 2024, directed by Scott and with a cast led by Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, is totally different from the original script written years earlier by musician Nick Cave.
When speaking with The New York Times, Scott explains that Spielberg encouraged him not to move forward with Cave’s script. Spielberg wasn’t the only one skeptical about this, as Scott already had his own doubts about Cave’s story, which featured Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) being resurrected. Scott discusses other elements of Cave’s script and why he believes they wouldn’t have worked well. Check out Scott’s comments below:
There was even a sequel idea written by musician Nick Cave, where Maximus is resurrected as an instrument of the Roman gods sent against Jesus Christ. Obviously that didn’t happen. It was too grand. Nick is a theater of the highest quality, and Steven Spielberg [who was consulted on the original film] said, “No.” I wasn’t confident about what we had actually done, so I just let it go.
What this means for Gladiator II
The sequel is better for not following Nick Cave’s script
The original Gladiator II the script written by Cave would have changed the genre from a historical epic to a story more based on mythology and fantasy. Even if Crowe had reprized his role as Maximus, the character’s journey, gender shift, and story itself would have seemed unrecognizable next to its predecessor. There was criticism of 2024 Gladiator II looking very similar to the original film, but the the reviews would have been much worse if Cave’s script had been used.
Instead of, Gladiator IIreviews of Washington have been largely positive, especially when discussing Washington’s performance. The film is also expected to be a box office success, as its release on its national opening weekend coincides with Evil in a box office battle that has the potential to become the next Barbenheimer phenomenon. Following the journey of Máximo’s son Lúcio Vero (Paul Mescal), in another historical epic, has a much more widespread appeal of what would have happened if Maximus had been resurrected to murder Jesus.
Steven Spielberg helped save Gladiator II
It was better that Spielberg stepped in and helped ensure that Cave’s film Gladiator II the script did not become the story of the sequel. Scott made some questionable storytelling decisions in his expansions. Foreigner franchise via Prometheus and Alien: Alliance. Even though he wasn’t thrilled with Cave’s script, it was nice that Spielberg helped solidify that it wasn’t the right choice for the sequel and that the Gladiator franchise was not diverted. 2024 Gladiator II is a much more worthy and appropriate continuation of the story that started in Scott Gladiator.
Source: The New York Times