A script written by Nick Cave for a proposed sequel to Gladiator has emerged on the internet.
Gladiator starred Russell Crowe as a disgraced general who battles for his right to take revenge on the phoney Emperor. A massive box office success, it ends with Crowe’s character Maximus dying and being re-united with his family. The film sparked a resurgence of interest in the Roman Empire, as well as the popularity of the historical epic.
Rumours of a proposed sequel has circulated for some time, with many theories centring on Crowe’s gladiator spawning an illegitimate son, but now it seems that a script written by Nick Cave has emerged on the internet. Director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe apparently thought that Cave would be able to come up with a script that would cope with the fact that the main character was dead.
Despite turning in a lengthy script it seems that Cave’s version was turned down for being too over the top. A report in The Guardian describes the plot, stating that Maximus meets Roman gods in the afterlife who give him the gift of eternal life. After fighting in both the Second World War and Vietnam, the film finishes with Maximus working in the Pentagon.
Over the top? Yup, but the ClashMusic office are unanimous that this is a film that MUST BE MADE.
Nick Cave has taken on a number of movie jobs in recent times. The Australian musical legend wrote the script for the violent western ‘The Proposition’ before scoring the recent Brad Pitt movie ‘The Assassination Of Jesse James’.
Ridley Scott spoke to movie site UGO recently, and revealed that he felt Nick Cave had enjoyed the writing process.
“Russell (Crowe) didn’t want to let it go, obviously, because it worked very well. I mean, when I say ‘worked very well’, I don’t refer to success. I mean, as a piece it works very well. Storytelling, he (Cave) works brilliantly. I think he enjoyed doing it, and I think it was one of those things that he thought ‘Well, maybe there’s a sequel where we can adjust the fantasy and bring him back from the dead’.”
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are set for a busy summer, with the group due to perform at festivals such as T In The Park, Oxegen and more.
