- Ridley Scott says there’s “certainly going to be a Gladiator 3”
- Suggests Paul Mescal would be up for returning too
- What else do we know about the future of the Gladiator franchise?
Gladiator II has made a global star out of Paul Mescal – but will the story continue in Gladiator 3?
US audiences stormed theaters to watch director Sir Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel following its release and the end of the movie left them wanting more.
And while we very much were entertained by Gladiator 2, a third movie would be welcomed with open arms.
Luckily for fans of the franchise, director Scott is already planning Gladiator 3.
Here’s everything we know about the threequel so far…
Does Gladiator 3 have a release date?
While it may seem impatient to already be hoping for a third film, Scott is apparently keen to begin the process as soon as possible.
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about his next projects, the director told them, “I’d rather get into Gladiator 3.”
This all sounds promising – and despite the scale of Gladiator 2, it was a pretty rapid production once everything slotted into the place. The film was properly announced in 2018 with Mescal signing onto the project in January 2023. Filming started in June of the same year and wrapped in January 2024, with a five-month break due to the Writer’s Strike.
10 months after filming finished, Gladiator 2 was in cinemas. So while you shouldn’t expect to see Gladiator 3 for a couple of years, hopefully it won’t be much longer than that.
Has Ridley Scott begun work on Gladiator 3?
It seems so. Scott, 86, has made a start on the movie’s plot – using his famous Ridleygrams to storyboard the action.
In an interview with The Times on November 17, the mastermind behind movies such as Blade Runner revealed that he has “already written 12 pages”.
The same method of fully sketching his storyboards is what won Scott the chance to direct the 1979 movie, Alien.
“They wanted another director, but he was intellectual and would think, ‘This thing comes out of his chest, how does that happen?’” Scott explained, referring to the scene in which the toothy ET evacuates John Hurt’s body. “That director was a bad choice.”
Spending three weeks drawing the first hour of the would-be hit sci-fi horror almost frame by frame, Scott was then flown to LA – where he was given the gig.
“At first the budget for Alien was $4.2 million,” he revealed. “But when they saw my vision, it went up to $8.4 million. That was my passport in.”
Who will return for the sequel?
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Just as the first Gladiator movie didn’t care about killing off Russell Crowe’s Maximus in 2000, Scott’s latest film has slaughtered basically all of its star-studded cast.
With Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn all gone, Paul Mescal’s Lucius was pretty much the sole survivor – and a third film could very well follow him as he enters a new era.
When asked during a recent press conference whether Mescal was likely to return, Scott answered “Of course.”
“Oh yeah, I’m massively down [for another film],” Mescal recently told Variety. “I don’t think it will be [24] years – but I have no idea when it will be.”
What has Scott said about Gladiator III?
Despite having almost 90 films under his belt, Gladiator 2 is one of Scott’s favorites.
He told Empire Magazine that the sequel is “one of the best things I’ve ever made [and] I’ve made a few good ’uns.”
That’s some big footsteps to fill – but the director is already excited about the third movie, and confirmed he was “already toying with the idea of Gladiator III” and had “lit the fuse” on a third film.
“The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?’” he continued. “So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”
During a filmed press interview, Scott said that there would “certainly be a Gladiator 3.”
“Given the performance in the rest of the world we’ve seen… there’s certainly going to be a Gladiator 3,” he said, answering a question from a journalist.
“It also becomes financial and you’d be insane not to consider the third version.”
