Oscar winning Gladiator gets a sequel after 18 years!

Remember Gladiator? The Oscar winning film, which was released in 2000. The film has got a sequel announced, in making. The new Gladiator film is being directed by Ridley Scott. According to the sources the script will be written by Peter Craig.

The character of the General in the Roman army, was played by Russel Crowe. Who was betrayed by the Emperor and left to die while his family is brutally murdered. He is eventually forced to become a gladiator after being captured by slave traders, who lead him back to Rome to fight as a gladiator.

Gladiator’s dialogues are still famous, “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next”.

As news is pouring in that the film’s sequel is in making, worldwide Gladiator fans are excited. But, at the same time one is left wondering about whether there is going to be another commander of the armies of the North? As Maximus died in the end of the original film.

According to the source Gladiator 2 will be followed by the continuing story of Lucius, the son of Lucilla. The young boy in the first film was the nephew of Commodus played by Joaquin Phoenix, the wicked son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius who murdered his father and seized the throne. And wounded up in the gladiator ring with Maximus. Maximus has killed the emperor before dying and saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family. Maximus left a strong impression on the young Lucius.

Source also quotes that Paramount will be the studio developing the project, and Universal has the option to co-finance it. The previous film was made by DreamWorks, which is out of the new film now. Further updates regarding cast, shoot and release date are being awaited.

The 2000 film, which gathered 11 Oscar nominations and won five awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. To follow in the footsteps of Crowe’s Maximus is going to be a tough act.

The brutal world of Roman gladiators has always been so compelling. Let’s wait and find out how this new film plunges the world into entertainment after its first Oscar winning film. The stakes are already set high for new film.