‘Gladiator II’: Read The Screenplay For The Epic That Makes It A Threequel For Ridley Scott And David Scarpa
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scripts behind this awards season’s buzziest films continues with Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s follow-up to his 2001 Best Picture Oscar winner. The sequel, which gets viewers back to ancient Rome with a loaded cast that includes Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington and Connie Nielsen, just passed $100 million in domestic box office as it contributed to this past weekend’s lucrative Thanksgiving frame, growing its global gross to $320 million after two weeks in theaters.
Screenwriter David Scarpa reteamed with Scott on Gladiator II after Scarpa wrote and Scott directed 2023’s epic Napoleon (which starred Joaquin Phoenix, Oscar-nominated for playing Commodus in the original Gladiator). Scarpa and Scott previously teamed for Scott’s Getty kidnapping true-crime drama All the Money in the World in 2017.
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The idea for a Gladiator sequel had been mulled since the success of the original, which was penned by the trio of David Franzoni (a producer on the new movie), John Logan and William Nicholson, earning them an Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. But it wasn’t until 2011 that Scott approached Scarpa to write a script based on a story by Top Gun: Maverick scribe Peter Craig.
The idea: A story set 15 years after the death of Maximus Decimus Meridius, Russell Crowe’s character in the original that earned him an Oscar. Combat in the Colosseum has become more deadly, violent and spectacular as bloodthirsty crowds urge the half-mad twin emperors to new heights of cruelty. The Roman Empire continues to grow, pillaging every culture in its path and forcing the survivors to fight for their lives in the ring.
The story weaves from there as Lucius (Paul Mescal), the incognito son of Maximus, is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered and he is made a slave by the tyrannical twin emperors (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger) who now lead Rome. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, he must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people. Lior Raz and the original film’s Derek Jacobi also star.
“We started by placing our main character, Lucius, in a situation that is diametrically opposed to Maximus’ story,” Scarpa says. “Maximus started as a leader in the Roman military who is facing off with an army of barbarians. Lucius is a barbarian defending his home from the invading Romans. Maximus was loyal to the emperor. Lucius hates Rome and everything to do with it. And yet both end up forced to kill or be killed for the amusement of the mob.”
The story is propelled from there, with Scott able execute his signature set pieces using tech and effects not available in the original.
Check out Scarpa’s screenplay below.
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