‘There’s going to be a Gladiator III,’ director Ridley Scott says as Gladiator II soars

After Gladiator II’s US$87 million opening weekend and ahead of its US cinema debut, director says there’ll ‘certainly’ be a Gladiator III

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Paul Mescal plays Lucius in Gladiator II. He has expressed excitement at the prospect of filming a Gladiator III, which director Ridley Scott confirmed is in the works. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Published: 3:50pm, 19 Nov 2024

Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Gladiator sequel has not even hit US cinemas yet, but the veteran director is already hard at work on a third instalment.

Gladiator II, which arrives in North American cinemas on November 22, stars Irish actor Paul Mescal (Normal People) as Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the multiple Oscar-winning original.

A bloody, blockbuster epic of revenge, treachery and – yes – gladiators, it has drawn positive reviews and already hauled in a muscular US$87 million at the global box office since opening in several countries last week.

“Given the performance in the rest of the world that we’ve seen yesterday, there’s certainly going to be a Gladiator III,” said Scott, in Los Angeles on November 18 for the movie’s glitzy US premiere.

Ridley Scott, director of Gladiator II, poses with his wife, Giannina Facio, at the US premiere of the film at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Photo: AP

“Because it also becomes financial, and you’d be insane not to consider a third version,” said the British director of seminal films such as Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise.