The more we hear about Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2,” the wilder the stories get. The latest one has Scott wanting to use as many cameras as possible for many scenes.
Joseph Quinn, who stars in Scott’s sequel, told GQ that Scott would shoot with eight cameras at once for even just a single scene. Scott would then piece together the desired shots in the editing room.
I was like, ‘Eight cameras?’ and he’s like ‘You gotta know where to fucking put ’em. Clearly, he does. Watching that puzzle, watching him harness all those pieces and put them together was fascinating, truly.
Scott also wanted to recreate the original’s sets. The production team rebuilt everything in Malta, the exact same spot where they shot the original film 25 years ago.
“The set of ‘Gladiator II’ is a wonder to bear witness to,” Quinn said. “You know that Rutger Hauer speech at the end of ‘Blade Runner’? ‘I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe,’ that’s what it felt like, just seeing it all. That’s what $300 million gets you.”
“Gladiator 2” is said to be a revenge story. Lucius (Paul Mescal), a noble journeyman, has his wife murdered and decides to go to the capital to seek revenge and fight his way to the top of the chain. Denzel Washington’s puppet master, a power broker, is the villain of the film, overseeing everything and impressed by Lucius’ talents
This film is a huge gamble. The latest cut that test screened clocked in at 2 hours 40 minutes. The monkey gladiator scene is being described as “gory” and “absolutely insane” with monkeys ripping off faces and bones. There’s also killer sharks, and massive rhinos.
A few months ago, a THR report confirmed that Scott’s sequel had its budget “balloon” from $165 million to a whopping $310 million. The piece went on to describe Paramount execs as feeling “terribly vexed” by the whole ordeal, but relieved once they saw footage of the film which “blew them away.
Reshoots are currently happening on the film, in Sussex, with some of the main actors involved, including Mescal. It’s set to be released on November 22.