Gladiator 2

Recall once Nick Cave was asked to write a screenplay for a sequel to Gladiator - sounded a bit mental

Haha 😄 just a bit

Denzel in talks too now.

They should have brought back Spencer Clark to play Lucius and cast Paul Mescal as the primary antagonist.

As Loafing Oaf said above though Lucius died as a child (think maybe he was even dead by the time the first film is set) and they had a blank slate since it is all fiction anyway.

There was a story idea of Maximus being raised from the dead. Was that Nick Cave’s one?

Bonkers alright.

Though I am interested now in seeing Jesus vs. gladiators.

Barry Keoghan hasn’t been been able to join - the auld conflicted schedules chestnut being the reason.

Fred Hechinger from The White Lotus is now in talks to play Geta.

Peter Mensah (who played the trainer in the Spartacus TV series has joined and Derek Jacobi will return as Gracchus.

Mensah and Jacobi are great news. 

I wonder was Spencer Treat Clark ever considered and how he feels hearing that other stars from the original are being brought back. 

Always good to see an Irish actor or actress do well but the “man of the moment” thing has young people rise too high too fast and there is always a fall. Plus as a movie fan I get annoyed at an actor being in “everything”.

Very surprised to see Derek Jacobi returning. But intrigued.

Enjoyed Peter Mensah in Spartacus, and he was of course brilliant in 300 🤣. Call it type-cast, but he just seems like a suitable addition here.

I personally think Paul Mescal is safe from the "man of the moment" curse. To date, he still seems very selective with his roles. He's so far dodged Marvel & DC, and I'm sure the offers are coming in. Hard to turn down Ridley Scott.

Surprised they didn't go with Geta's brother Caracalla as the main villain.

This doesn't appear to have gone over schedule so the strike probably accounts for most of the budget over run. The rushed shooting schedule would worry me but Scott has at this for years. He shot Napoleon in about 60 days. He shoots one or two takes with a dozen cameras and moves on.

The production couldn't be more troubled than the first film which they were writing as they went along. How the finished film wasn't a disaster is extraordinary.

not feeling it, there hasnt been any historically set movies in the last 10 or 20 years that have been a big hit? Nolan might have been the only Director to pull something like this off?

I remember reading a few years ago that Michael Mann was going to adapt Bernard Cornwell’s novel about Agincourt. That would be great to see.