Ridley Scott’s long awaited ‘Gladiator II’ is just around the corner, and the legendary director hasn’t held back plans for a third feature film.

“I’d rather get on into Gladiator III,” Ridley Scott (86) said to The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s already an idea.”

The director also touched on direct inspirations for the third chapter, with one in particular being ‘The Godfather - Part II.’

‘Gladiator II’ releases November 15, 2024 in the United Kingdom and November 22, 2024 in the United States. The cast includes Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus, Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius, Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla, Connie Nielsen returning as Lucilla (from ‘Gladiator’), and Denzel Washington as Macrinus.

Original cinematographer and Best Cinematography Oscar nominee of the first film, John Mathieson, returns for the sequel. The screenplay was penned by David Scarpa, who also wrote Scott’s previous outing ‘Napoleon.’

The movie is rumored to have a severely inflated budget after major delays in production, costing nearly $310 million.

Production was expected to begin back in May 2023 in Morocco, with set construction began in the city in April. Filming then began in June 2023 with additional filming locations planned for Malta, which stood-in for ancient Rome, and the United Kingdom over the following four months. A major accident involving fire during filming on June 7 injured six crew members which temporarily halted production. Filming was suspended again in July due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes — the WGA strike, spanned 148 days from May 2 to September 27, involved 11,500 screenwriters clashing with the AMPTP. Simultaneously, SAG-AFTRA's record-breaking strike from July 14 to November 9, impacted 45,000 jobs. Filming resumed on December 4 in Malta and wrapped on January 17, 2024.

MORE NEWS