All through Gladiator, Maximus longs to see his family again, so there is a certain logic to a plot which keeps that longing alive, even when the person doing the longing isnвЂ™t. It may sound like the premise of a Terry Gilliam film or a Neil Gaiman graphic novel, rather than a blockbuster sequel, but CaveвЂ™s Orphean adventure sort of makes sense. Jupiter offers him a deal: if he kills Hephaestus, then he will be reunited with his wife and son in the golden wheat fields of Elysium. but within it the presage of pandemonium. вЂњHe is an agitator,вЂќ say Jupiter of Hephaestus. Understandably, Crowe was keener on a film that he could actually be in, and so he hired another screenwriter, Nick Cave. ScottвЂ™s plan was to commission John Logan, one of the screenwriters of Gladiator, to write a sequel which would be set in ancient Rome, but which wouldnвЂ™t feature either Crowe or gladiators. The tale of Nicolas Cage almost playing Superman Terry GilliamвЂ™s вЂcursedвЂ™ Quixote film is here How could Scott and Crowe make Gladiator 2? Only by thinking outside the box вЂ“ several miles outside the box. But Gladiator leaves no questions unanswered, no plot lines unresolved, no logical way for its striking story to continue. In 2001, it won five Oscars, including best picture and best actor, and it took $457m (ВЈ355m) at the box office, so you canвЂ™t blame its director and star for wanting another taste of that astounding success. In short, if ever there was a film that didnвЂ™t cry out for a sequel, itвЂ™s Gladiator.

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