Ridley Scott sets record straight on ‘Gladiator III’

A buzz was kicked off after Ridley Scott, ahead of Gladiator II teased its sequel in the work. But now he is clarifying his remarks.

“People say, ‘Have you got [a third film]?’ And I say, ‘Of course.’ That’s the knee-jerk answer. Have we got it yet? Not really,” he told EW. “I mean, of course, I was thinking about it even when I was doing Gladiator II on the basis of who will survive. It is better if there’s a survivor.”

Explaining his previous comments further, he said, “No, seriously! I’ve lit the fuss. The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?‘ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

In other news, Denzel Washington, who plays Macrinus in the upcoming film, raved about Ridley’s work, saying, “All we had to do was put the clothes on and start talking.”

“I’m serious. What Ridley did, which was great, is he built Rome… When we would walk around, you were in Rome [with] 10,000 extras and horses. I mean, it was make-believe, it was play,” he noted during the Los Angeles premiere of Gladiator II.