Ridley Scott Talks About His Original Supernatural GLADIATOR 2 Pitch That Brought Maximus Back From the Dead
Before this upcoming version of Gladiator 2 was made, Ridley Scott pitched a very different idea to the studio for a sequel, and it was a supernatural story that brought Maximus back from the dead.
He originally shared his idea for this concept back in 2017, but with the sequel coming out soon, the filmmaker is talking about that pitch again.
During an interview with Empire, Scott shared: “I had this one good idea, a very comic-strippy idea. I'm very much a comic-strip kind of person. I thought, if we find in bloodshed and war that a dying warrior becomes the portal for Maximus to come back from the dead, how about that?
“I don't mean he comes back through his mouth, but I'd devise a way to bring him back from the dead. [...] But that didn't go down too well with the nobs. They thought it was ridiculous.”
Scott, Nick Cave and Russell Crowe had all talked about this concept and they wrote it out. Scott previously said: "Russell, me and Nick Cave, it was about bringing him back. It was a good idea.
“It's on the shelf somewhere at Dreamworks... [Russell] said listen. I've got some thoughts, 'What can we do about Gladiator?' I said, 'I can bring you back.'
“That's how it began. He'd been working with Nick Cave, so then we talked--the three of us-- and out of it evolved a screenplay."
One script that was written was Cave’s Gladiator 2: Christ Killer, which featured Maximus breaking out of purgatory on a mission to kill Christ. Scott said he and Cave did a “reasonable presentation for DreamWorks” on the script but “it never got further.”
This would’ve been a really interesting story and a very unconventional sequel, which is what I like about the pitch! It’s unique, it’s fun, and it’s weird! I have no doubt that would’ve made for a wild sequel!
The studio obviously didn’t see the potential. But, years later Scott was given the opportunity to make a Gladiator sequel, but this one is much more in line with historical events and figures.
What do you think about Scott’s original supernatural idea for Gladiator 2? Do you think it would’ve worked or been good?