Gladiator Sequel That Almost Happened

In the movie's end, Maximus leads rebel Christians against the Romans; the Romans retreat. As the Christians see their dead friends and enemies, Maximus warns, "They will be back."

Maximus picks up dirt. He stands up dressed as a Crusader fighting Muslims in the Middle Ages. Then he is in WWII. Next, he is in the jungles of Vietnam.The jungles of Vietnam.. Then, he wears a suit and tie, washes his hands in a Pentagon bathroom. He walks a hallway, enters a room, opens a laptop, and asks, "Now, where were we?"

Roll credits.

Nick Cave has wrestled with Christian questions throughout his career. His song "Into Your Arms" has even been comparedto Dietrich Bonhoeffer'sto Dietrich Bonhoeffer'sin which the theologian explores the link between earthly affection and divine love. Cave often views things through atheism, but his curiosity shows in his art.Cave keeps exploring religion in the script for Gladiator 2. The original title was "The Christ Killer". He told

Marc MaronGladiator 2[Maximus] goes to purgatory. Gods, dying in heaven because of one Earth Christ figure gaining popularity, send Gladiator back to kill Christ and his followers.After accepting the Roman gods' mission, Maximus travels across a desert. He immediately gets lost. Thirsty and tired, he walks in the sand until he starts having a series ofstrange visionsMarc MaronHe first sees a stag with antlers caught in thicket brambles. The script states, "The stag looks at MAXIMUS with spooked, rolling eyes. The stag's head is torn by the brambles, its forehead speckled in bright blood."

[Maximus] goes to purgatory. The gods send him down because a Christ character gaining popularity makes the gods in heaven die. So, the many gods send Gladiator back to kill Christ and his followers.

Maximus accepts the mission from the Roman gods. He travels across an endless desert. He immediately gets lost. Thirsty and tired, he walks through the sand until he experiences a series of visions.and Mordecai, a messenger and likely the thrower, greets him. Mordecai ignores Maximus's confusion, telling him he is there to "keep the peace."and follows Mordecai. They set up camp. Mordecai offers Maximus wine: "Rough as dog's guts, but the best you will find around here." He confirms the gladiator died in the Colosseum.

Maximus, drunk and confused, falls asleep, dreaming of his wife and child in the wheat fields.

Maximus meets seven weakened Roman gods—Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune, and Mars—in a temple ruin. These gods look like weak, old men and are portrayed as dissolute. As

Maximus entersMaximus rises.Mordecai greets Maximus. Mordecai is a messenger, maybe the one who threw the projectile. Mordecai ignores Maximus's confusion. He tells Maximus he is there to "keep the peace."

Maximus follows Mordecai. They set up camp. Mordecai offers Maximus wine. The wine is "rough as dog's guts, but the best you will find around here." Mordecai confirms the gladiator died in the Colosseum at the end of the first movie. Maximus, drunk and confused, sleeps and dreams of his wife and child in the wheat fields.

Maximus meets seven weakened Roman gods in a temple ruin. These gods include Jupiter, Pluto, Neptune, and Mars. They look like dissolute, weak old men. AsMaximus entersThe OLD MEN grow silent. They look ill and diseased. JUPITER, fat, with boiled, bloodshot eyes, sits in the center.

Maximus asks to see his wife and child. Jupiter tells Maximus he must first find Hephaestus, a rogue who thinks there is a bigger power in the universe. This power endangers the gods; so, Hephaestus must be eliminated. Maximus silently leaves the temple, taking the mission.

Ridley Scott likes taking risks. He built a career making movies other directors avoid.

Nick Cave's script gave Scott a whole new level of risk.If audiences accepted the movie's supernatural parts, the dour setting might have scared most viewers away. But when asked about Cave's script, Scott said, "Russell didn’t want to let it go, obviously, because it worked very well. When I say 'worked very well,' I don’t mean success. I mean, as a piece it works very well. Storytelling, it works brilliantly."If audiences accepted the movie's supernatural parts, the dour setting might have scared most viewers away. However, Scott said about Cave's script, "Russell didn’t want to let it go, obviously, because it worked very well. When I say 'worked very well,' I don’t mean success. I mean, as a piece it works very well. Storytelling, it works brilliantly."

The original plan forGladiator 2focused on the emperor's nephew, a minor character in the first movie. Russell Crowe was initially cautious about a sequel but wanted to join it anyway. He also wanted the film to center on Maximus. Ridley Scott agreed, saying he enjoyedworking with Crowe.

Crowe recalled:

I was very cynical about that idea of aGladiatorsequel], but I changed my mind. We had other ideas. We could step into the metaphysical and show Maximus is dead [laughs]. That script is hard to write. Nick Cave wrote a draft for Ridley and me once. He is a great writer. Nick wrote that draft; Ridley and I considered it.

After a strange desert journey, Maximus finds Hephaestus, the god he was sent to kill. Hephaestus looks poor and clutches a cross. He tells Maximus people are abandoning the gods—and it is for the best. Hephaestus states there is only one True God.

Hephaestus also warns Maximus his son is in great danger. Before Maximus kills the god, Hephaestus sends him through space and time to Lyons during Christian persecution. Officers attack Maximus before he meetsLucius, the cruel Roman commander and the movie's main antagonist.

Mordecai, Maximus's ghostly guide, brings the gladiator to a place called "a massive refugee camp." Thescript reads:

Below them, on a huge plateau, many people camp by the edge of a flat, black sea: a massive refugee camp stretching endlessly. Fires burn among the makeshift shelters, and thousands of people sit helpless and forlorn in their squalor.

Maximus learns he is in the afterlife. This place is a purgatory for souls not going to Elysium. Something went wrong in the afterlife. Mordecai brings Maximus to an old, ruined temple. Before Maximus enters, Mordecai warns him not to trust those inside.

In 2018, producers looked at the original idea for a Gladiator sequel.Producers are making a 'Gladiator' sequel, but it will not use Nick Cave's script.Peter Craig wrote the sequel.Hunger GamesPeter Craig signed to write the script. It will likely focus on Lucius, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's character. Russell Crowe's role remains unclear.Ridley Scott said"There is a way of bringing [Maximus] back. I do not know if it will happen."GladiatorGladiator was 2000, so Russell changed things a bit.

Scott and Craig are skilled filmmakers. Their sequel will likely not feature a time-traveling Maximus sent by Roman gods. Luckily, Cave's script is online.Cave's scriptThis can be found online.

Maximus reaches Rome. He meets Christian rebels there, including his son, Marius. Maximus hesitates about joining the Christian rebellion until he meets Juba (played by Djimon Hounsou in the original film). Maximus tells Jubathe strange storyhow he came to be alive in Rome:

MAXIMUS: And that is not all of it.

JUBA: There ismore?!

MAXIMUS: There is a strange melancholy ghost named Mordecai that follows me.

Juba accepts his friend's story. He encourages Maximus to join the Christians. After a Christian leader dies, Maximus joins the uprising.

Nick Cave's version of Maximus may not get a screen. Some scripts he wrote became acclaimed and commercially successful films.commercially successful filmsIn 2005, he wrote the screenplay for the well-regarded ""Outback Western"",The Proposition, directed by John Hillcoat. In 2012, he adapted Matt Bondurant's novel Lawlessfor the big screen, again working with Hillcoat.

Both films share some of Cave'sfire-and-brimstone flavor.Neither film is as wild as Gladiator 2.Gladiator 2Cave said, "I enjoyed writing [Gladiator 2very much because I knew it would never be made. Let's call it a popcorn dropper."

The film's enemy, Lucius, tells the emperor Maximus is alive and joined the Christian rebels. The scene happens at the Colosseum during a fake naval exercise (which is historically accurate). Nick Cave describesthe scene:

The Colosseum teems with PEOPLE. The PEOPLE scream, cheer, and shout at the carnage they see in the arena. The arena grounds flooded. A naval battle happens in four feet of water. Water rolls with one hundred alligators released in the water. GLADIATORS fire arrows, throw spears, and launch fireballs as the two ships meet. Some CHRISTIANS fall from the ships and are torn apart by the alligators.