23 years ago, Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator was one of cinema’s most popular and acclaimed films. It made Russell Crowe an international star and confirmed the talent of a young Joaquin Phoenix in the role of the cruel Emperor Commodus. After winning 5 Oscars for the film, including Actor and Best Picture, Ridley Scott considered moving on with the story. Something that, according to the Deadline website, is a concrete and ongoing project.

With more than two decades of space, it is not a spoiler to say that the continuation depends on one of the survivors, the young Lucius, son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), whose adult life will be the center of the plot. As he was the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and grandson of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), Lucius followed the drama closely, from the terror his mother experienced, his uncle’s evil and madness, and, in particular, Maximus’ victories ( Russell Crowe), the Roman general turned gladiator, who saved Lucius and Lucilla from Commodus’ cruel plans.

For the role of Lucius, the bets are on the British Paul Mescal, on the rise at the moment after Emmy nominations for Normal People, rumors of being considered for James Bond and shining in the West End theater with A Streetcar Named Desire (and to be dating Angelina Jolie).

According to the website Deadline, the first draft, which began to be worked on in 2001, has been ready since November and with the end of the accompanying Kitbag (starring Joaquin Phoenix as Bonaparte) and is one of the most beloved projects of the award-winning director. The presence of Connie Nielsen is not confirmed, but she would be more than welcome to return to the role of Lucilla. What will the sequel be like? What has already been said is that there will be a time jump of 25 to 30 years and that Maximus, should still appear in the film, even if he is already dead at the end of the first film. They even talked about Chris Hemsworth in the cast, but nothing seems to have advanced. Knowing that Ridley Scott prefers a more grounded approach to historical fiction, there’s hope for something very interesting. We will follow.