I briefly tackled this topic last night, but let me give you a clearer picture of what’s actually going on here. It’s pretty obvious.
Hidden, and purposefully so, inside Deadline’s reporting about Ridley Scott directing the Bee Gees movie, was a brief detail that was not going to go unnoticed. It turns out that Paramount Execs were so “blown away” by the footage they saw of Scott’s “Gladiator 2” that they decided he was their man for the Bee Gees biopic.
This, my friends, was leaked purely to build a narrative. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s how Hollywood works. Deadline writer Justin Kroll was given the intel and he ran with it, and why wouldn’t he? It probably came straight from Paramount!
Yes, the high praise leak for “Gladiator 2” is coming from the higher ups over at Paramount — that, I have no doubt about. It’s akin to David Zaslav or James Gunn saying that “The Flash” was one of the greatest superhero movies they ever saw, which they both did, in fact, say.
Now, I’m not saying “Gladiator 2” won’t turn out to be great, but what I am saying is that you should always take these sorts of leaks with a major grain of salt — it was purely, and purposefully, meant to build up excitement for the film. There’s a lot riding on this film, for all parties involved.
On-paper, “Gladiator 2” looks top notch. You have Scott directing, David Scarpa writing and a cast that includes Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen. It’s the sequel to an Oscar-winning, and much beloved, blockbuster.
Then again, Scott is a very hit and miss director. For every good film he makes, he produces two or three mediocre ones. He’s still directed more than a handful of great films, but there should always be caution when it comes to whatever new film he releases. I did like “Napoleon,” but I seem to be in the minority on that one.
“Gladiator 2” is currently scheduled for a November 22, 2024 release.