10 Weirdest Reasons Movie Sequels Were Cancelled

If ever there was a film that didn't need a sequel, it would be Ridley Scott's 2001 Best Picture winner Gladiator. But, due to its massive success with both critics and audiences, Scott decided to have another film written - an epic set in Rome, with no gladiators and no Russell Crowe. It never came to pass.

What did come to pass, though, was Crowe going out of his way to have his own script written, only with this one being a more direct sequel. Hiring musician and writer Nick Cave (of all people) Crowe wanted Maximus to come back in the follow-up for more bloody adventures, despite having died in the previous film.

Getting to work, Cave's sequel would have seen Maximus sent back from the Afterlife to kill Jesus and his followers, and when he succeeds, realises the gods have tricked him and he's just killed his own son. Because of this sin, Maximus is doomed to life as an eternal warrior, forced to fight in every major conflict in history.

Crowe read it and, despite Cave saying it was a "stone cold masterpiece", ended their movie partnership there. Probably for the best.