- Ridley Scott’s latest movie, Gladiator II, is currently playing in theaters globally
- The sequel to the 2000 classic stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington
- Scott has revealed he is using his famous Ridleygrams to create a third film to the franchise
His latest movie, Gladiator II, is currently playing in theaters across the world.
But although the film is yet to hit the US, Sir Ridley Scott is already planning the third part of the franchise.
Back in October, the director, 86, revealed that he had a total of eight pages written for the sequel, which follows on from his most recent work, and the 2000 film.
But in an interview with The Times on November 17, Scott says that figure has increased – and his vision is also fully illustrated.
“I’ve written 12 pages,” Scott confirmed.
What many don’t realize about Scott’s creative process is that he sketches a full storyboard of each of his projects.
Known as Ridleygrams, the perhaps unusual practice was what won him 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 him 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.”
It’s a method that clearly works for Scott – and the filmmaker confirmed that he has sketched out the first part of Gladiator III.
‘I lost my nerves three decades ago’
The drawings don’t just help from a creative standpoint – as Scott says his illustrations help to keep the movie financially in check.
Ahead of Gladiator II’s international opening weekend, Scott admitted he “lost the nerves 30 years ago” – but the blockbuster actually “ended up ten million dollars under budget” thanks to the Ridleygrams.
He was right not to worry – as it has become Scott’s best overseas debut, raking in a whopping $87 million from 63 markets, with a budget of $250 million-plus.
Among the movie’s stellar lineup is Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.
