Ridley Scott is set to direct a sequel to his hit film Gladiator.
The filmmaker will develop the project at Paramount adapting a script written by Peter Craig (The Town) whose next film will be the forthcoming Top Gun sequel.
Deadlinereports that the story will focus on Lucius, the son of Lucilla and nephew of Commodus, characters played by Connie Nielsen and Joaquin Phoenix in the original.
Speculation surrounding a Gladiator sequel has been rife ever since the film was released in 2000. It was a critical and commercial hit, earning $460m globally and winning five Oscars. Scott commented on the rumours last year, stating the script was “on the shelf.”
In recent years, Scott has returned to the Alien franchise, directing Prometheus in 2012 and Alien: Covenant in 2017, His most recent film, All the Money in the World, came out in January.
Singer Nick Cave once wrote his own time-travel sequel to Gladiator which would have seen the Roman gods resurrect Russell Crowe's character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, to fight against the persecution of Christians.
