In the years since the release of the first film, there have been many attempts to write a sequel
Narrative
After his house was conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now rule Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Coliseum and turn to his past in order to find the strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Musician Nick Cave was brought in to write the version by Russell Crowe and Sir Ridley Scott
His version focused on the more mythical elements of Ancient Rome and suggested that Maximus would arrive in the afterlife only to meet other souls who have yet to ascend higher.
In the end, Jupiter and other Roman deities instruct him to return to earth to find and kill Hephaestus, the former deity who betrayed them
From there he is resurrected as a Christian and finds that he is returning to Rome with a mission to stop the spread of Christianity, crossing paths with the new emperor Lucius.
The studio decided not to continue with this version, but the script is available for reading online
The film ends with Maximus being damned to eternal life, and a montage of a soldier fighting during the Crusades, World War II, and the Vietnam War eventually shows a modern-day Maximus working at the Pentagon in Washington.
Emperor Geta: The Gods Have Spoken!
Featured in 7PM Project: Episode 3, July 2024 (2024)