Director Ridley Scott has been bombarded by fans begging him to stop working on Gladiator 3.
The world-famous director, 87, announced in a new interview published on Thursday that the wheels are officially in motion for a third movie following the release of Gladiator II in November 2024.
Speaking to the Guardian, he said: ‘Gladiator is in process right now.’
Despite the news, hordes of cinephiles have publicly pleaded with Scott to cease work on the project.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one posted: ‘Please stop, Ridley. Nobody’s asking for this. Gladiator II was pretty mid and it was only worth watching for Denzel.’
‘After watching Gladiator II, I can assuredly say that this is unnecessary,’ another said.
A third added: ‘Guys… there shouldn’t have even been a second one…’
‘Why!?! Two was too many,’ continued another.
Ridley Scott has confirmed that Gladiator 3 is officially in the works
The director’s news comes nine months after the sequel, starring Paul Mescal, premiered
A fifth said: ‘Do we really need a Gladiator 3 though? The first one was legendary, the second already felt unnecessary. Sometimes classics should stand alone.’
Some, however, have expressed they are eagerly awaiting a follow-up film.
‘Scott being almost 90 and having this kind of passion for making movies is absolutely riveting,’ one said. ‘Gladiator II was very good and I’m excited.’
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the second one and Mescal’s performance, pumped for a continuation with him,’ another said.
The first Gladiator film, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Nielsen, premiered in 2000.
The epic historical drama follows Maximus Decimus Meridius (Crowe), a Roman general who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne.
Reduced to slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks of the arena, determined to avenge the murders of his family and the emperor.
The sequel featured newcomers Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, and Denzel Washington.
Social media users have pleaded with Scott to reconsider making the third movie
The original Gladiator film was released in 2000 and starred Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe
Critics were somewhat divided over the second film, which also starred Pedro Pascal
In the film, Mescal portrays Lucius Verus Aurelius, the exiled Prince of Rome, who becomes a prisoner of war and fights as a gladiator for Macrinus, a former slave who plots to overthrow the twin emperors Caracalla and Geta.
Scott first announced plans for a third film just days after Gladiator II’s worldwide release in November.
Speaking to The Times Ridley spoke about his future projects, he was asked if he had started Gladiator III.
‘I’ve written 12 pages,’ he said, before confirming he has also started drawing his storyboards.
Critics were somewhat divided by Scott’s second movie in the series, with some noting that it didn’t quite live up to the film’s original, but overall Gladiator II was seen as a triumph, with one noting that it’s ‘watchable and spectacular.’
The Daily Mail’s Brian Viner noted that while the sequel fell short of its masterpiece predecessor, it is still ‘heaps of farfetched and ferocious fun.’
He wrote: ‘Even though this sequel rarely scales the soaring heights of the first film, and takes some right Roman liberties with historical truths, it is still worthy of a firm-ish thumbs-up.
Giving the blockbuster four stars, he continued: ‘Certainly, Lucius is not cowed by anything the Colosseum can throw at him, from killer baboons to, in a cinematic flourish all but guaranteed to make historians of ancient Rome throw their textbooks at the screen, a saddled-up warrior-rhinoceros.
‘And let’s not even start on the savage sharks brought in to pep up the recreation of a naval battle.’
He concluded: ‘Yes, Scott’s lofty disregard for historical verities extends even to his own narrative but let’s not hold that against him. At the age of 86, the old boy still knows how to craft a sword-and-sandals epic, so to hell with the facts.’
