10 Huge Sequels That Were Announced (And Then Just Disappeared)

7. Gladiator 2

Though the first Gladiator film saw the heroic death of Russell Crowe's Maximus, that wouldn't stop Australian jack-of-all-trades Nick Cave from reviving the character for a subsequent action packed blockbuster. He even wrote a full script for the film €“ which he had titled "Christ Killer" €“ but that's about as far as the movie progressed. Initially, Crowe had been the one to call Cave and put in the request for a second go-round for Maximus, which raises questions as to why the film was never actually completed; a lead actor so gung-ho for a sequel should have spelled success. Perhaps the premise of the film itself was what gave the other key players pause, an answer that seems most viable when reading through Cave's script. Since Russell Crowe was the one commissioning the writer in the first place, Cave's biggest challenge would be discovering a way to bring Maximus back from the dead, which apparently isn't a difficult thing to do when your film is set in ancient Rome. The gladiator is raised to life immortal by the gods, and is naturally given a hefty quest to make up for all that expended godly power €“ kill Christ and all his followers. The gods of the heavens were quickly wasting away, their power being stolen believer by believer every time a new Christian convert appeared, and Maximus would be the solution to their problem. The film would have followed Maximus' journey through the ages to effectively wipe Christianity from the face of the earth. It's a risky and somewhat controversial plot, to be sure, and is probably the reason the film never saw the light of day.