Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was a bonafide critical and commercial smash hit when it released back in May 2000, but it didn’t exactly scream franchise as the leading man and main character died having redeemed himself in the end and gotten justice for the murder of his family.
Still, the pic was one of the more influential movies to hit theaters at the turn of the millennium, with Gladiator‘s success inspiring an onslaught of similar blockbusters that sprung up shortly after like Troy, The Last Samurai, Alexander, King Arthur, Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood, the latter of which saw Scott reunited with star Russell Crowe.
However, none of them could emulate the success of the swords and sandals epic, which earned $460 million at the box office, scored widespread praise and took home five Academy Awards from twelve nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor. There’s been talk of a sequel for a long time now, of course, with Nick Cave’s crazy time travel idea that would’ve seen Crowe returning as Maximus and showing up at various points throughout history getting mentioned a lot, but to date, nothing has materialized. That could be about to change, though.
Chatter of a Gladiator 2 has picked up significantly in recent months, with several people involved in the first film saying it’s still on the table. And now, a new rumor claims that Chris Hemsworth is talking with Crowe about playing his son in the sequel.
Word is that the two of them have gotten pretty friendly while shooting Thor: Love and Thunder down in Australia, with the pair discussing the prospect of co-producing Gladiator 2. And apparently, Crowe really wants the MCU star to portray his son. Not only that, but the two actors have spent some time sharing script ideas, according to the report from New Idea.
Of course, none of this is to say that another Gladiator movie is 100% going to happen, and with Hemsworth on board, no less, but it’s certainly sounding like the sequel is picking up traction and with any luck, we’ll get some concrete updates soon.