A script for a sequel to the Russell Crowe film Gladiator has been in the works for an astounding twelve years, but the most recent version of Nick Cave’s follow-up has the leading man shaking his head.
"Don't like it, mate," Crowe told Cave of the script to Gladiator 2 , as the screenwriter revealed during WTF Podcast . In 2009, Crowe asked Cave to write the sequel, which was a daunting task as the writer only had one screenplay under his belt. Besides last of experience, Cave said he was also concerned as to where he could go from the ending of Gladiator .
"Hey, Russell, didn't you die in 'Gladiator 1'?" Cave asked Crowe, according to The Huffington Post , to which he was told by the actor, "Yeah, you sort that out."
The product, something called Christ Killer is what followed. In the script, Crowe’s Maximus is still dead, but struggling in the afterlife. As Cave explains, he "goes down to purgatory and is sent down by the gods, who are dying in heaven because there's this one god, there's this Christ character, down on Earth who is gaining popularity and so the many gods are dying so they send Gladiator back to kill Christ and his followers."
Unfortunately for Cave, and fans of Gladiator , Crowe was unimpressed by Cave’s effort. Director Ridley Scott, however, has decided to work with Cave’s story in order to set plans for a sequel in motion.
The script in its entirety is available on Indiewire .
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