12 Crazy Sequel Pitches That Almost Ruined Great Films

5. Gladiator 2

Faced with a dead lead character €“ and the titular hero at that €“ how exactly Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe thought they could get away with making a sequel despite the fatal end of the first movie is anyone guess. But they tried, hiring occasionally bonkers rock star Nick Cave to come up with an answer to a seemingly impossible question, and he came up with a sort of swords and sandals vision of Quantum Leap meets Forest Gump.

Sent back to the living world by the Roman Gods, after impressing them with his gladiating, Maximus then becomes immortal (obviously) and then battles through every major battle in history until he eventually ends up working at the Pentagon, since everything that happened in the history of the world ever only mattered in terms of the grand old USA.

It might sound utterly ridiculous €“ to the point that some will no doubt clamour to see it actually made €“ but Russell Crowe apparently loved Cave's utterly bonkers script, and it was only the studio that saw sense and branded it too over the top.

A rare win for common sense from an industry that gave us Battleships.