Roland Emmerich Hopes for a ‘Godfather II’-Style Season 2 of ‘Those About to Die’

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As a die-hard fan of historical drama, I am thrilled to see Roland Emmerich‘s vision for season two of “Those About to Die.” His ambition to delve into The Year of Four Emperors and explore the dramatic rise of Vespasian is nothing short of exhilarating. Just like how “The Godfather Part II” masterfully weaved together past and present narratives, I am eager to witness how Emmerich will bring this concept to life in the Roman Empire.

[This story contains spoilers from Those About to Die season one.]

In the first season of Roland Emmerich’s ancient Roman drama titled “Those About to Die“, he journeyed back to 79 AD. For the second season, he envisions a return to an even earlier time period.

Emmerich expressed a desire to emulate some aspects of ‘The Godfather II’ in a potential second season. He suggested that the show could narrate two tales simultaneously, one taking place in the present and another delving into the past, much like how ‘The Godfather Part II’ from 1974 intertwined flashbacks of Vito Corleone’s (Robert De Niro) rise to power with the ongoing story of his son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in the present.

In the second season of Those About to Die, the flashbacks delve into the turbulent period known as The Year of Four Emperors, a decade prior to the series’ events. This tumultuous time featured significant milestones like Emperor Nero’s suicide and the ensuing struggle for power among various contenders, culminating in Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins) taking control of Rome.

There’s a lot of exciting developments with fresh characters (Emmerich is pondering over potential actors for Nero) alongside familiar ones. Domitian (Jojo Macari), who became emperor at the end of season one and was only 18 during the Year of Four Emperiors, experienced numerous close calls with death that Emmerich is keen to delve into.

The director, famous for producing disaster movies like “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow,” recently held a conversation with THR from a boat he’s owned for almost two decades off the coast of Greece. This chat was a well-deserved break following the intense effort required to bring ten hours of television content to the world.

Emmerich mentioned that it’s important to give your mind a break sometimes, and he simply doesn’t feel like pondering anything at the moment,” (said Emmerich)

The first season of the TV series was aired on Peacock in the United States and on Amazon globally. Although Peacock doesn’t provide specific statistics to Emmerich, it ranked sixth among original series on Nielsen streaming charts for the week of July 22-28, accumulating 399 million minutes watched. Additionally, Parrot Analytics reported it as Peacock’s most popular show during the week of Aug. 16-22 among shows that premiered in the past year.

Emmerich handled directing for five episodes of “Those About to Die”, while Marco Kreuzpaintner oversaw the other five. Over a 108-day filming period, Emmerich approximated that he spent roughly 45% of his time in Volume, the innovative virtual production stage famously used in “The Mandalorian”.

Emmerich intends to pass the daily management of “Those About to Die” season two to another director, but he might still direct a few episodes himself. This arrangement would provide him with the opportunity to bring his own vision for “Lawrence in Arabia,” a project he’s collaborating on with writer Anthony McCarten, to life on the big screen.

As a game enthusiast, I refer to this masterpiece as “In Arabia,” not just because it boasts a slightly larger cast compared to the iconic 1962 film with Peter O’Toole, but also because of its rich Arabian flavor that resonates deeply within me. In the coming month, my team and I are set to unveil this project to potential collaborators, and we’ve got an ambitious three-season roadmap in mind.

Despite his temporary foray into television, he also harbors dreams of returning to the silver screen.

As a die-hard fan, I’ve harbored a longstanding dream of creating a biopic about the legendary Marilyn Monroe. The recent Ana De Armas film, Blonde, hasn’t dimmed my enthusiasm one bit. Emmerich, in his own words, shares, “When it comes to dealing with the estate, there’s a constant need for dialogue. And naturally, they prefer no negative portrayals.” He further adds, “They don’t want her to be depicted as a drug addict, yet she was. The challenge lies in finding a way to present that aspect of her life without criticism.

And he also has a mysterious political movie.

He mentions that it’s still too early for release and he prefers to exercise caution. In other words, if Trump were to win the election, he predicts that he won’t produce the film for about four years, speaking this with a chuckle.

Regarding the novel “Those About to Die,” Emmerich’s fascination with it goes back for many years. In fact, he remembers a conversation with Steven Spielberg where Emmerich asked about a Roman project that Spielberg was rumored to be working on. As Emmerich recalls, “He said, ‘Oh, we just handed it over to Ridley (Scott) a week ago.’

The initial “Gladiator” film and the title “Those About to Die” were both inspired by the same literary work, Daniel P. Mannix’s novel. It’s merely a coincidence that “Those About to Die” made its television debut several months before Scott’s “Gladiator II” hits cinemas in November. Although there are similarities, Emmerich had to be creative in order to expand his narrative over 10 hours, compared to the duration of a single feature film.

Emmerich jokes that someone like Ridley Scott might only need around $140-$150 million to make a film, but the end result could still be worth an impressive $250 million.

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2024-09-14 01:25