Tag: Gladiator

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Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ Sequel Starring Paul Mescal Releasing November 2024

With Ridley Scott‘s historical epic Napoleon starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby currently in the post-production phase at Apple TV+. The filmmaker has moved on to tackling an equally challenging period piece. His long-gestating sequel to the massively successful film Gladiator that also starred Phoenix and landed Aussie actor Russell Crowe an Oscar statue.

A release date for the tentatively titled Gladiator 2 has been announced via Deadline as they report that Paramount Pictures has locked it in for November 22, 2024. Certainly a wise choice given that will take place over the Thanksgiving holiday season in the United States and a prime time for folks to flock to theaters as they aim for an older demographic given the violent action scenes we are expecting to see in it. This comes after Irish actor Paul Mescal reportedly became the frontrunner to lead the sequel after beating high-profile competition from the likes of Richard Madden, Miles Teller, Austin Butler, and Timothée Chalamet for the part.

Of course, fans of that first installment already know that General Maximus Decimus Meridius, aka, The Spaniard died at the end of the 2000 film with Mescal instead taking on the role of Lucius Verus II, the young son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla and next inline to become Emperor of Rome. That role had been occupied by American actor Spencer Treat Clark, who was simply recast with a more high-profile name as Mescal is part of this year’s Best Actor Oscar race thanks to his performance in Aftersun. We’re beyond excited to see who else Scott casts alongside Mescal and if any of those previous contenders are given other roles in the film. These big movies tend to be populated with a multitude of recognizable names and plenty of actors are going to want to be involved with a second Gladiator movie given how it gave both Crowe and Phoenix a massive career boost.

While the original film wasn’t exactly as historically accurate as expected with Napoleon, Scott and his team decided to create a fictionalized version of the Roman Empire with some real figures/events inspired from it. Given the dramatized take on history in the previous film, we really shouldn’t assume that audiences will be getting a true-to-life take on this adult version of Lucius and instead a more entertaining take, possibly just as violent as the original pic. Will the film become more of Roman Empire epic covering other battles as they attempt to keep their power over most of Europe or could it actually make a triumphant return to the gladiator pit? Only time will answer our questions concerning the plot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

Ridley Scott Says ‘Gladiator 2’ Should Be Ready To Begin Shooting After ‘Kitbag’

A weird project that director Ridley Scott has been developing over the years is a sequel to his Oscar-winning ancient Rome action film, Gladiator. However, the project would follow a grown Lucius Verus, rather than Russell Crowe’s Maximus, given the latter died.

While speaking with Empire Magazine, director Ridley Scott has revealed that he hopes to get cameras rolling on the untitled Gladiator sequel after he completes his upcoming Napoleon film, Kitbag, that will star Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Joker) and Jodie Comer (The Last Duel, Killing Eve).

“I’m already having [the next] Gladiator written now. So when I’ve done Napoleon, Gladiator will be ready to go.”

Filming on Kitbag is said to begin shooting next year in the United Kingdom and could suggest that Gladiator 2 might begin sometime in 2023.

Returning to ancient Rome should be interesting given that Scott will have way more special effects tools (CGI) than he did in the late 1990s.

GLADIATOR – Set in Roman times, the story of a once-powerful general forced to become a common gladiator. The emperor’s son is enraged when he is passed over as heir in favour of his father’s favourite general. He kills his father and arranges the murder of the general’s family, and the general is sold into slavery to be trained as a gladiator – but his subsequent popularity in the arena threatens the throne.

SOURCE: EMPIRE

Posted on in Film News

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Film ‘Kitbag’ Adds Oscar-Winning ‘Gladiator’ Costume Designer Janty Yates

Ridley Scott and Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix are set to reunite for an epic period film at Apple Studios that will focus on Napoleon Bonaparte with Phoenix playing the lead role. Shooting is expected to begin next year in the United Kingdom with Scott reportedly adding The Last Duel’s Jodie Comer to play Josephine. The script was penned by All The Money In The World’s David Scarpa

The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The intention of the film is to capture Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.

The Ronin can now confirm that the period epic has added Oscar-winning costume designer Janty Yates, who previously worked with both Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix on Gladiator. Yates’ extensive credits include Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, Exodus, Raised By Wolves, Prometheus, The Last Duel and the Lady Gaga-led crime film House of Gucci.

Famously, Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Shining) attempted to make a Napoleon project spending years developing and researching it. HBO/MGM recently tried to resurrect as a miniseries with Steven Spielberg producing and Cary Fukunaga (No Time To Die, True Detective, Masters of The Air) directing.

Phoenix is currently shooting Ari Aster’s Disappointment Blvd. in Montreal and is attached to co-star with Rooney Mara in director Lynne Ramsey’s Polaris.

There is an assumption that Scott’s longtime cinematographer Dariusz Wolski will be part of the film’s crew as well.

Speaking of Gladiator, the British filmmaker has been developing a direct sequel with The Town screenwriter Peter Craig and takes place 25-30 years after the events of the original movie that earned Russell Crowe a Best Actor Oscar statue. There is an expectation that Spencer Treat Clark’s (Animal Kingdom, Glass, Unbreakable) Lucius will be the focus of that project.

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‘The Martian’ Production Designer Arthur Max Confirmed For Ridley Scott’s Thriller ‘Gucci’ – Stars Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Adam Driver, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro

The Ronin can now confirm independently that veteran production designer Arthur Max will be reuniting with director Ridley Scott for his thriller Gucci. The MGM project stars Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jack Huston, Robert De Niro, and Reeve Carney according to a previous casting report from Deadline.

In the new film, Gaga will play Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, who was tried and convicted of orchestrating her ex-husband’s assassination on the steps of his office in 1995. Maurizio had two daughters with Reggiani, but he left her for another woman. She’d had a brain tumor removed, and her children blamed it for her actions; the media took a darker view of her during a sensationalized affair, depicting her as a hot-blooded woman scorned and dubbing her “Black Widow.” She was originally drew a sentence of 29 years.

Max’s credits include Gladiator, Se7en, The Martian, Robin Hood, Prometheus, American Gangster, Black Hawk Dowan, All The Money In The World, and worked on Ridley’s most recent film The Last Duel that recently has wrapped in Belfast after pausing for COVID-19.

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Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix To Reunite On Napoleon Film ‘Kitbag’ For 20th Century Studios

Deadline reports that Ridley Scott has completed his period drama The Last Duel and will next move on to his Gucci crime film starring Lady Gaga, but has also lined up his project after that as well with a period epic titled Kitbag for 20th Century Studios.

The Napoleon project will star Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix as the French military leader and emperor, the pair previously worked together on the Oscar-winning film Gladiator.

The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The intention of the film is to capture Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.

The script was penned by David Scarpa, who previously wrote on All The Money In The World, a version of the upcoming Cleopatra film, and episodes of The Man In The High Castle.

Despite the myth, the French leader was not short but of average height.

One of the most famous unmade Stanley Kubrick films was also going to focus on Napoleon and more recently had been planned as HBO mini-series from Cary Joji Fukunaga (No Time To Die, True Detective) using Kubrick’s research as inspiration with Steven Spielberg producing.

Ridley will begin filming Gucci for MGM in Italy starting in March and when Kitbag is aiming to start shooting is a little unclear. Joining that Gucci cast led by Lady Gaga includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Adam Driver and Jared Leto.

SOURCE: DEADLINE