As a seasoned moviegoer and film critic with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the saga of Gladiator II is nothing short of extraordinary. It seems like every stone thrown into the production process has turned into a boulder, causing delays, disputes, and disasters galore.
The movie titled Gladiator, widely recognized as Ridley Scott’s finest work, tells the story of Maximus (Russell Crowe), a Roman general who becomes an enslaved gladiator after Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), his father’s traitorous son, seizes the throne and assumes the role of Emperor of Rome. In the 24 years since its release, Gladiator has been hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Over these years, numerous attempts have been made to produce a sequel. The long-awaited sequel, titled Gladiator II, featuring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington, is set to be released in theaters this month. However, its production journey has been fraught with challenges from start to finish.
24 years ago, I was all geared up for the sequel to my favorite movie, “Gladiator II”. Initially, it was budgeted at a cool $165 million, which was already quite a hefty sum compared to the original. However, whispers from industry insiders suggested that this number had inflated significantly, reaching an estimated $310 million. Paramount Studios, though, maintains that the actual cost never exceeded $250 million. Over the years, I’ve wondered about what could have possibly gone wrong to keep “Gladiator II” from gracing our cinemas.
6 Struggling with the Story
One of the main challenges with “Gladiator II” was certainly determining the appropriate narrative. The original movie, which garnered five Academy Awards including Best Picture, was both a commercial and critical triumph. Consequently, its sequel needed to present an engaging story. Over the past 24 years, there has been a great deal of debate about the direction for the sequel, as well as numerous script ideas and screenwriters involved.
Discussions about a continuation of the movie “Gladiator” started as far back as 2001. In 2003, director Ridley Scott announced that screenwriter John Logan had penned a sequel script, centering on the character Lucius, who was Rome’s heir and admired Maximus from “Gladiator”. However, not everyone was in agreement with this plan.
in the climax, the scene shifts to the present day, depicting Maximus working at the Pentagon. Incredibly strange, isn’t it?
Luckily, we all avoided this nightmare, as the project was ultimately canceled. For nearly 18 years, finding the perfect screenwriter and script proved challenging, much like an enduring, difficult relationship. Remarkably, even Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor for Marvel, pitched ideas for a sequel to Crowe.
5 Paramount Buys DreamWorks
For Gladiator II, it wasn’t just about creating a compelling story that posed challenges; DreamWorks Pictures faced financial hurdles as well. The studio encountered financial hardships in the early 2000s partly due to the commercial flop that was Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
In the year 2006, DreamWorks Studios was purchased by Paramount Pictures, leading to a halt in the production of projects like ‘Gladiator II’ and others from DreamWorks. The studios parted ways in just two years. Since then, DreamWorks has resumed independent operations, with Universal Pictures handling most of their film distribution. Notably, Paramount still holds the rights to ‘Gladiator’, enabling them to produce a sequel about two decades later.
4 The Global Pandemic
In contrast to the continuous debate spanning numerous years, it was in 2018 that Paramount finally confirmed and approved Gladiator II. At that point, screenwriter Peter Craig was selected for scriptwriting tasks. However, an unexpected event known as COVID-19 emerged. This worldwide pandemic unfortunately caused a delay in the production of Gladiator II, along with numerous other films.
In 2021, Paramount and Ridley Scott decided to return to the project. At this time, David Scarpa, who had previously written the script for Scott’s “Napoleon,” was enlisted to revise Peter Craig’s screenplay. Finally, the story that both Paramount and Scott had been waiting for was in hand. Set two decades after the first movie, “Gladiator II” features an adult Lucius (Mescal), who, like Maximus, is forced into gladiatorial slavery. The credits for “Gladiator II” acknowledge both Scarpa and Craig for the story, but only Scarpa received screenplay credit.
3 Animal Abuse Allegations
In the realm of Gladiator, animals are no stranger. Originally, director Ridley Scott planned for Maximus, portrayed by Russell Crowe, to fight a rhinoceros, but ended up using tigers instead. However, in Gladiator II, Scott is indeed fulfilling his vision of a rhino battle, though this time the creature will be digitally created.
In the midst of it all, I find myself associated with “Gladiator II,” a film that has unfortunately been embroiled in allegations regarding animal abuse during production. An animal rights organization named PETA penned an open letter to our team, brimming with reports from whistleblowers detailing the mistreatment of horses and monkeys on set. However, a representative certified by the American Humane Society, who was present for every scene involving animals, refuted these claims, asserting that no animal injuries or incidents occurred during filming.
2 An Accident on Set
On the set of “Gladiator II”, it’s worth noting that no animal injuries were reported. However, there were unfortunate incidents involving human safety, such as the mishap during a prearranged fire scene in Morocco back in June, which resulted in six crew members being hurt.
As a movie lover, I’m relieved to share that despite some team members sustaining burn injuries necessitating hospital care, thankfully, they all stabilized and seem to be doing well. So far, it appears that everyone is okay.
1 Labor Disputes
2023 saw significant news in the movie industry with a series of labor disputes between the Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, and film/TV studios lasting five months. The main issues at hand included insufficient royalties from streaming platforms and emerging concerns about AI and artificial media technology. Notably, this was the first instance since 1960 where two Hollywood unions were on strike concurrently.
The strike significantly halted production in both film and television sectors. Filming was temporarily stopped on various TV series and movies, such as “Gladiator II”. This five-month pause is estimated to have cost the producers approximately $600,000 per week, draining their funds and increasing the film’s budget significantly. Fingers crossed, they’ll recoup that loss when “Gladiator II” finally hits the screens in a few weeks.
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2024-11-17 20:32