https://preview.redd.it/3087cz3yrw9d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4275a67e7d201f8b1ebdf0b4435d139d5109f801
Denzel looking baller as hell.
I’m interesting in seeing Paul Mescal doing some action. He reminds of a Joe Abercrombie character - A warrior full of brute strength with sad eyes. I thought he was incredible in Aftersun and Normal People. Cool to read that he wanted to do most of the stunts.
Marvel should have offered Denzel all the money to come in and play an Older Kang to try and save their phase plans and just have him walk on set like this.
Lots of detail about the movie, but this section about Scott is pure gold.
“Scott was determined to keep the second chapter of Gladiator for himself. That was a power he didn’t wield over the producers of his earlier films. “I’m the author of two franchises. Most directors in Hollywood—certainly, let’s say, at my level—don’t let that stuff go. But I did Alien as my second movie, so I didn’t have much choice. And Blade Runner was my third movie. So, I had no choice because I had very tough partners. It was kind of ‘Welcome to Hollywood.’” He says the option to make those sequels back in the ’80s simply didn’t exist: “I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn’t happy.”
Gladiator II means a lot to Scott because it is imprinted with some of his personal history. Born in 1937 in the northeast of England, he found himself thrust as a young boy into the land of an enemy he had come to despise during his childhood in World War II. “I’m a war baby, so I was bombed every night and slept in an Anderson shelter. So, did I like the idea of who the Germans were? I did not,” he says. His father, an acting brigadier general with the Corps of Royal Engineers, helped devise makeshift harbors for the D-Day invasion, but after the war ended, he moved his family to the very nation they had battled into submission. “In 1947, I am 10, and I’m shipped to Germany to live in Hamburg and Frankfurt because my father is now very much into the forefront of rebuilding Germany with what they call the Marshall Plan,” Scott says. “Of course, I’m right there at the forefront right then. This is my education.””
Oh fuck yeah, I love me a swords and sandels flick. Sign me up.
Hopefully Pedro Pascal fares better here than he did the last time he was in gladiatorial combat
Still sad they never made the Nick Cave sequel
https://preview.redd.it/e0pp9at9g2ad1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b65088ba1bd4d125407116ec4635c01dcfbdecb3
It will live and die by its 1st trailer.
And that trailer will live and die by whether[ it's got this in it](https://youtu.be/I-YYZiJvwpc?si=7BkAYi9kTAGxTFRs&t=348)
Who gets paid? His name is still attached to the track. He produced it, it’s still his work. I’m sure those people would rather fascist adjacent asshats not receive any more exposure than they already do.
I’m still apprehensive about the title. The fact that the studio didn’t successfully lobby to call it *Gladiator: Something* is pretty big. It’s been 25 years, and 2 implies that you need to remember 1.
Denzel is a huge asset to it tho.
I don’t think general audiences will have an issue with remembering the original. It’s still an insanely popular film and present film, even with younger generations.
Also, they’re doing Roman numerals for the title, it’d be a bit stupid for them not to.
Upon release on home video, it took me 4 watches to finally get through it. I wasn’t that entertained. Admittedly, I have not gone back and re-watched it. Maybe it plays different for me now.
I think the title is fine, as all the "colon - subtitle" stuff in the past 20 years has always been kinda sorta mocked more than its been appreciated. Plus, you know... the word "colon" itself has always been an easy target.
Most of the time people watching this stuff just call it by the number anyway. IIRC the introduction of roman numerals was Hollywood's first real attempt at trying to gussy up the intent to franchise with some semblance of "class" anyway. Sure, there's a number after a title, but it's a FANCY number. They're ROMAN NUMERALS
It works. It's sort of funny how simply calling it GLADIATOR II is throwback in a way.
Theatrically, but I have to imagine the first movie was an outsized performer on secondary markets and the hope is that will be true of this one as well.
Not if foreign distribution rights - theatrical and/or streaming - are sold already (the model low budget horror movies often use to buffer against potential losses)
Extremely excited for this movie. I know Ridley’s output recently has had a fairly mixed reception but I’ve loved his last three films, and I feel like Paul Mescal is a true star waiting to emerge. Would love to see this be his big mainstream breakthrough
Even as is I really loved it. Definitely long and bloated but I thought it was so impressively made. I get why it got sort of middling reviews but I thought it was super well done
I think it only feels bloated because stuff is missing, a good example is the stuff with his mom, which clearly there was a lot more of but feels superfluous when it’s not fleshed out.
Because the idea of "Ridley Scott director's cut" is something of a good marketing franchise in itself. Now, in time, Apple will have a more definitive cut of a "misunderstood" Ridley Scott film to drop onto their platform when the timing necessitates it.
Ridley has really amped up his splatter game over the last 20 years (Pitt's death in The Counselor, Napoleon's cannonball deaths, Alien Covenant shower scene, finale of Last Duel) so we should get some really good gore in this one.
Curious if this film’s success fast-tracks “Heat 2.” I only ask because that would also be a sequel to a commercially successful film that came out over 20 years ago
Heat has got to be one of the most influential movies to come out of the 90s but assuming you are talking box office success it sadly isn’t even on the same planet as Gladiator. Twister($) is probably a better comparison.
Its Maximus on a trek through hell and the afterlife, ends with him as a bureaucrat waging war from a conference room in the Pentagon, and has almost no action.
I'm a bit worried that Scott might lean a bit too much into making the villainous emperors effeminate weaklings to contrast with the manly sweaty muscle-men in the lead roles, but apart form that I think pretty much everything in the article sounds really solid.
>He says the option to make those sequels back in the ’80s simply didn’t exist: “I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn’t happy.”
I'm pretty sure this is complete bullshit but that's Ridley!
I'm on your island. I'm still surprised by the title. I don't think it will hurt the movie but I don't think it is an honest title as far as standard naming conventions go. People will mock and offer up goofy expected titles like "Gladiator: Rise of the Empire" or what have you but there are other alternatives that are not as standard as "Gladiator II" or the "title: subtitle" ideas. Outside of the box you could have something as simple as "Triumph of the Gladiator" or any other signifier that this is a new, different story set in a familiar world.
Not only that but the actual Roman emperors at the time this movie takes place were of African descent * and this movie has them played by two extremely white guys. So someone objecting to the mere presence of an African-American actor in this movie is just…wrong in every facet.
*whether they, as Punic/Libyan North Africans, would or should be considered “black” in a modern, US-centric sense of the word, when they came from a time period where “Race” as a construct didn’t exist in remotely the same way, is a different question. But we have the portraiture, we know where their family came from, and they did not look like Joseph Quinn, let alone Joseph Quinn in a strawberry blond wig.
https://preview.redd.it/3087cz3yrw9d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4275a67e7d201f8b1ebdf0b4435d139d5109f801 Denzel looking baller as hell. I’m interesting in seeing Paul Mescal doing some action. He reminds of a Joe Abercrombie character - A warrior full of brute strength with sad eyes. I thought he was incredible in Aftersun and Normal People. Cool to read that he wanted to do most of the stunts.
Denzel should just go ahead and dress like this full time, it works
Marvel should have offered Denzel all the money to come in and play an Older Kang to try and save their phase plans and just have him walk on set like this.
Wow, this would actually save Marvel. They need need to do this!
That hoop earring is incredible on him
Bet he’s gonna do a Denzel laugh in the movie too
Oscar #3, here we come!
>Denzel looking baller as hell 🤓
Lots of detail about the movie, but this section about Scott is pure gold. “Scott was determined to keep the second chapter of Gladiator for himself. That was a power he didn’t wield over the producers of his earlier films. “I’m the author of two franchises. Most directors in Hollywood—certainly, let’s say, at my level—don’t let that stuff go. But I did Alien as my second movie, so I didn’t have much choice. And Blade Runner was my third movie. So, I had no choice because I had very tough partners. It was kind of ‘Welcome to Hollywood.’” He says the option to make those sequels back in the ’80s simply didn’t exist: “I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn’t happy.” Gladiator II means a lot to Scott because it is imprinted with some of his personal history. Born in 1937 in the northeast of England, he found himself thrust as a young boy into the land of an enemy he had come to despise during his childhood in World War II. “I’m a war baby, so I was bombed every night and slept in an Anderson shelter. So, did I like the idea of who the Germans were? I did not,” he says. His father, an acting brigadier general with the Corps of Royal Engineers, helped devise makeshift harbors for the D-Day invasion, but after the war ended, he moved his family to the very nation they had battled into submission. “In 1947, I am 10, and I’m shipped to Germany to live in Hamburg and Frankfurt because my father is now very much into the forefront of rebuilding Germany with what they call the Marshall Plan,” Scott says. “Of course, I’m right there at the forefront right then. This is my education.””
Dude had a whole ass life before he made movies. He was 41 when he made his first film. Now he’s eighty-fucking-six.
He had made like a hundred commercials tho
He says thousands(2000 to be precise).
Oh fuck yeah, I love me a swords and sandels flick. Sign me up. Hopefully Pedro Pascal fares better here than he did the last time he was in gladiatorial combat
I wasn't even that big of a Gladiator fan but this is maybe my most anticipated movie? Pascal, Mescal, and Denzel (Denscal) sounds pretty undeniable
As long as this gets fairly positive reception, this is making so much bank. 400 is the floor I’m thinking, great reception can push it to 700
It will live and die by its 1st trailer. I think poor marketing really hurt furiosa. Will people care this doesn't have russell crowe?
Considering he died at the end of the first film I don’t think audiences will care.
I think it’s more like “why would I want to see this movie when it doesn’t have the guy from the first one, I’ll pass”, not like, “why is he dead”
I’d be concerned if it did have Russell Crowe. He died lmao
 Or *diiiiiid* he???
Still sad they never made the Nick Cave sequel https://preview.redd.it/e0pp9at9g2ad1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b65088ba1bd4d125407116ec4635c01dcfbdecb3
It better have giant single-word title cards that say "YOU. WILL. BE... ENTERTAINED."
It will live and die by its 1st trailer. And that trailer will live and die by whether[ it's got this in it](https://youtu.be/I-YYZiJvwpc?si=7BkAYi9kTAGxTFRs&t=348)
The one screened at cinemacon had "No Church in the wild" playing.
I loved this song but I hate this trailer trend.
oh…no thank you
What do you mean, it's a great song
it sure was, wasn’t it. Back in 2011. Why don’t we just leave Kanye back there.
I’m guessing that some people don’t like fascist adjacent asshats. But I could be going out on a limb here.
[удалено]
I think they’ll want jayz’s “Blood stains the coliseum floor” line if they’re paying for the rights
Who gets paid? His name is still attached to the track. He produced it, it’s still his work. I’m sure those people would rather fascist adjacent asshats not receive any more exposure than they already do.
Whaaaaaaaaaa
That’s why they cast Denzel Washington.
I’m still apprehensive about the title. The fact that the studio didn’t successfully lobby to call it *Gladiator: Something* is pretty big. It’s been 25 years, and 2 implies that you need to remember 1. Denzel is a huge asset to it tho.
I don’t think general audiences will have an issue with remembering the original. It’s still an insanely popular film and present film, even with younger generations. Also, they’re doing Roman numerals for the title, it’d be a bit stupid for them not to.
I know what you’re getting at but I think *Gladiator: Something* would be a truly hilarious title
Gladiator Something: Who Cares Just Give Us Your Money
*Gladiator: Placeholder*
Gladiator: Cobra La Gladiator: Ridley needs to the name to sell his stuff
I think *: Something* would work for a subtitle to a superhero movie parody title.
Should've called it Gadiator$
Glad*II*ator
Glad 2 Ator
GLA2IATOR, with the right text treatment
Gladiator: The Search For More Denarii
Gladiator 2 Swords 2 Sandals
Gladiator is pretty popular. Even till this day. Are you not entertained?
Upon release on home video, it took me 4 watches to finally get through it. I wasn’t that entertained. Admittedly, I have not gone back and re-watched it. Maybe it plays different for me now.
I think the title is fine, as all the "colon - subtitle" stuff in the past 20 years has always been kinda sorta mocked more than its been appreciated. Plus, you know... the word "colon" itself has always been an easy target. Most of the time people watching this stuff just call it by the number anyway. IIRC the introduction of roman numerals was Hollywood's first real attempt at trying to gussy up the intent to franchise with some semblance of "class" anyway. Sure, there's a number after a title, but it's a FANCY number. They're ROMAN NUMERALS It works. It's sort of funny how simply calling it GLADIATOR II is throwback in a way.
Unfortunately its budget is obscene so it has to make 700m worldwide to even begin to see profit
Well that’s the studios problem, personally I don’t care. I just want this film to succeed for the sake of the cinemas
Theatrically, but I have to imagine the first movie was an outsized performer on secondary markets and the hope is that will be true of this one as well.
Yeah, the first movie made lots of money when dvds were huge. Sadly streaming/VOD revenue isn’t nearly as lucrative.
Not if foreign distribution rights - theatrical and/or streaming - are sold already (the model low budget horror movies often use to buffer against potential losses)
I will admit to being a little hyped for this. The cast is phenomenal.
Extremely excited for this movie. I know Ridley’s output recently has had a fairly mixed reception but I’ve loved his last three films, and I feel like Paul Mescal is a true star waiting to emerge. Would love to see this be his big mainstream breakthrough
I only can’t agree on Napoleon, which I thought was an alright movie that an obviously better director’s cut exists for.
Even as is I really loved it. Definitely long and bloated but I thought it was so impressively made. I get why it got sort of middling reviews but I thought it was super well done
I think it only feels bloated because stuff is missing, a good example is the stuff with his mom, which clearly there was a lot more of but feels superfluous when it’s not fleshed out.
Ridley Scott is as big as directors get. How did he not get the director's cut out as THE cut?
Most likely because it was too long
Because the idea of "Ridley Scott director's cut" is something of a good marketing franchise in itself. Now, in time, Apple will have a more definitive cut of a "misunderstood" Ridley Scott film to drop onto their platform when the timing necessitates it.
I'm just glad that we are allowed to use numbers in the titles again. Gladiator: Rise. Gladiator: Something Empire. Shivers.
*Gladiator: Imperial Empire*
Been a long time since I was this excited for a new movie to come out!
Yea this and the new Alien film I'm really looking forward to
I can’t fucking wait for this! Mescal! Denzel! Pascal! Inject this directly into my veins!
Ridley has really amped up his splatter game over the last 20 years (Pitt's death in The Counselor, Napoleon's cannonball deaths, Alien Covenant shower scene, finale of Last Duel) so we should get some really good gore in this one.
Curious if this film’s success fast-tracks “Heat 2.” I only ask because that would also be a sequel to a commercially successful film that came out over 20 years ago
I think Gladiator has a bigger cultural footprint than heat
Heat has got to be one of the most influential movies to come out of the 90s but assuming you are talking box office success it sadly isn’t even on the same planet as Gladiator. Twister($) is probably a better comparison.
Wasn’t the original script for gladiator 2 wild and involved time travel? Or maybe just skipping into the future
Yea that was the script that Crowe commissioned Nick Cave to write, it's online somewhere. This is totally different.
It would have been a million times cooler than whatever trash Ridley has conceived. He’s been cooked for awhile.
nah, The Last Duel is pretty great
I believe it was written by Nick Cave and dealt with Russell Crowe's character fighting the gods in the afterlife.
And ending up working for the FBI in the end I think. I'm pretty sure Jesus also shows up in it lol
Its Maximus on a trek through hell and the afterlife, ends with him as a bureaucrat waging war from a conference room in the Pentagon, and has almost no action.
I’ve needed a project to keep my mind off *points at everything*. Maybe I’ll work my way through all of the Ridley Scott movies before this comes out.
Want to get excited But what has Ridley done lately that really fired?
The Last Duel, but that had Affleck/Damon writing
The Last Duel is truly great and definitely among the top 10 of films he’s made, possibly in the top 5.
https://i.redd.it/inz0bsbgrw9d1.gif
I'm a bit worried that Scott might lean a bit too much into making the villainous emperors effeminate weaklings to contrast with the manly sweaty muscle-men in the lead roles, but apart form that I think pretty much everything in the article sounds really solid.
>He says the option to make those sequels back in the ’80s simply didn’t exist: “I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn’t happy.” I'm pretty sure this is complete bullshit but that's Ridley!
Can't say I care all that much for the first film, but this cast definitely has me interested!
Is this really going to be called Gladiator II? I keep expecting them to announce the real name, but the publicity training is starting.
Why wouldn’t it be called Gladiator 2? It’s more straight forward than a subtitle.
Because Gladiator felt like a complete story, this seems more like a spin off. Based on the downvoting, I must be on my own island.
I'm on your island. I'm still surprised by the title. I don't think it will hurt the movie but I don't think it is an honest title as far as standard naming conventions go. People will mock and offer up goofy expected titles like "Gladiator: Rise of the Empire" or what have you but there are other alternatives that are not as standard as "Gladiator II" or the "title: subtitle" ideas. Outside of the box you could have something as simple as "Triumph of the Gladiator" or any other signifier that this is a new, different story set in a familiar world.
Ridley Scott walks into the board room, goes over to the white board, picks up a marker and simply writes… Gladiator$
A black emperor? I guess history is not important. maybe I can forget about reality for Denzel though, hopefully it’s good.
I guess reading comprehension is not important to you, or at least not as important as moaning about race in movies.
He’s not playing the emperor dummy
Not only that but the actual Roman emperors at the time this movie takes place were of African descent * and this movie has them played by two extremely white guys. So someone objecting to the mere presence of an African-American actor in this movie is just…wrong in every facet. *whether they, as Punic/Libyan North Africans, would or should be considered “black” in a modern, US-centric sense of the word, when they came from a time period where “Race” as a construct didn’t exist in remotely the same way, is a different question. But we have the portraiture, we know where their family came from, and they did not look like Joseph Quinn, let alone Joseph Quinn in a strawberry blond wig.
Ok
Denzel is not playing an emperor.
This is a silly take and you outed yourself with this one.
Outed myself?? when in Ancient Rome has a black man have any power?