Ridley Scott resurrects Rome for ‘Gladiator II’

Huston Recent Editorial Team
2 Min Read

The Creative Mind of Ridley Scott

An inevitable fact of interviewing Ridley Scott is that, whatever movie he’s about to release, you’ll find him already knee-deep in his next project.

Scott, Hollywood’s perpetual rolling stone even at age 86, may be preparing to unveil “Gladiator II,” one of his biggest epics yet, but at the moment he’s got the Bee Gees on the brain. Scott is developing a biopic on the Gibb brothers. On a recent Zoom call from his office in Los Angeles, he was surrounded by meticulously plotted storyboards.

Scott is enthusiastic about the project. “I think the word is beyond talented. They were gifted,” he says — even if the Bee Gees brand of music seems quite distant from the no-nonsense British director.

“I’m not a disco guy,” Scott says. “I dance like a (expletive) plowman.”

Scott is on more familiar turf in “Gladiator II,” which Paramount Pictures will release Nov. 22. He’s back in ancient Rome, among sandals, swords, and glistening biceps, for a sequel to his best picture-winning “Gladiator,” with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix.

“Sequels are always kind of suspect,” says Scott. “But to begin with, we had a good logical stepping stone into who next, who survived, and where did he go.”

Aside from numerous “Alien” films, Scott has largely eschewed sequels throughout his career. “Gladiator II” had been in development, off and on, for two decades, though.

But Scott believes in the movie so much that he’s called it his best. Why?

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