It's been nearly two decades since director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe came together to tell the story of Roman General Maximus in "Gladiator." Maxim is now confirming that Ridley Scott is coming back for a sequel. The director has been making sequels over the past few years. Most recently he directed "Alien: Covenant," and produced "Blade Runner 2049," which positively built on the original Blade Runner film.

While sequels have been doing well, moviegoers don't rush into theaters for them. Scott has plenty of reasons to make this sequel a reality.

Scott's original "Gladiator," film got Oscar nods, winning five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor. While Crowe's character ended up dead at the end of the original blockbuster, Gladiator 2 will continue the story of Lucius. Lucius ended up in the gladiator arena with Maximus, who ended up skewering him, before riding into the sunset.

Ridley Scott has a screenwriter lined up

"Gladiator," was originally created by DreamWorks and distributed by Universal. The sequel is being led by Ridley Scott. Scott wants to helm the film and is expected to make Peter Craig the screenwriter for Gladiator 2. Craig's credits include "The Town," "12 Strong," and most recently "Top Gun: Maverick." which has been pushed back to a 2020 release.

The Guardian reported that Crowe and Scott originally had Nick Cave as the screenwriter for a sequel. Cave's screenplay planned to reincarnate Maximus and have him be transported to key points in history, including World War II and Vietnam. Paramount will be developing the project, allowing Universal the option to co-finance.

DreamWorks will not be a part of the project. With Crowe's character story finished, it will be difficult to follow his act, but Roman gladiators are so compelling in story form.

No production date in mind as Ridley Scott is working on other projects

Ridley Scott is currently directing the upcoming TNT series "Raised By Wolves." He also has multiple projects lined up including a possible Merlin film and a Scarlett Johansson led drama.

Gladiator 2 could happen at any time, but it will take time for the film to actually come together.

In 2017, Scott originally said that he was talking with the studio about possibly bringing back Crowe's character Maximus. Last year at South by Southwest, Ridley Scott confirmed that a script was sitting on the shelf and that he wouldn't allow Maximus' death hold him back from creating a blockbuster sequel. Scott wants to bring back Russell Crowe, but right now he is busy doing other projects.
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