SPOILER WARNING: This article will contain some spoilers for Gladiator II, particularly in how it may set up Gladiator III.
It’s no surprise that Ridley Scott plans to give Gladiator II a director’s cut. Nor is it a shock that he wants to expand on the universe even further with a Gladiator III. But what might be is the inspiration behind the future of the films, as Scott is looking towards one of the greatest trilogies ever.
For Gladiator III – which we should note hasn’t officially been greenlit – Ridley Scott is taking inspiration from Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather saga, particularly as it relates to the central character’s arc. As he told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s already an idea. I always had this idea that The Godfather ends with Michael not wanting the job. He sits there, and there’s this push-in on Al. He’s already had his hand kissed. He’s betrayed his wife with lies. [Lucius] isn’t quite that evil at all. He’s wondering, ‘Father, what do I do?’ Paul not wanting the job is a good place to start.”
For his part, Paul Mescal – who plays Lucius, son to murdered father Maximus – has said he is “massively down” for a Gladiator III but hopes it won’t be another quarter-century until we get it. And with Ridley Scott at 86 right now, he definitely won’t have time to let his plans for Gladiator III sit.
While we wait for the final box office numbers to come in, Gladiator II is tracking around $60 million, which would be well over what 2000’s Gladiator made on opening weekend. With that, we can probably expect the sequel to fare better at the overall box office as well despite the original pulling in over $450 million worldwide. With numbers like that, a Gladiator III does seem like a given, especially with how Gladiator II ended. Scott even said that he had to keep Lucius alive and kill off his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) to help develop the character, suggesting it will help propel actions for another film.
Did you see Gladiator II on opening weekend? Do you see potential in a Gladiator III? Let us know below!