Gladiator 2: What Really Happened?

6. The Initial Sequel Plans

While rumours began to swirl of a follow-up movie after the success of Gladiator, it wasn't until 2001 that interest really started to firm up, with producer Douglas Wick stating that it was something being actively pursued, if they could find the right story. It wasn't a sequel, however, but reportedly a prequel that they were looking at then, as a means of potentially keeping star Russell Crowe - who was at the peak of his pulling power after his turn as Maximus - around for the movie.

It would've focused on Maximus' earlier soldiering days and his romance with Lucilla (played by Connie Nielson in the movie), but that idea didn't gain much traction, however, and it wasn't long before alternate plans were being discussed.

The next idea on the table was a sequel, with Wicks and Dave Franzoni (who co-wrote the original) looking to produce, and John Logan (who also contributed to the first's screenplay) set to write. This one would've been set 15-years after the first movie, and put the focus on Lucius, son of Lucilla, as he attempts to discover who his real father was, while the Praetorian Guards ruled Rome.

The twist in the tale here, though, was that it'd be revealed that Lucius is actually the son of Maximus - a twist that Scott decided led to the movie going away from what made the first Gladiator work, becoming more the story of Rome's corruption and demise rather than of Gladiators, and too "rambling and complex" in the process.