British filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott said there is “already an idea” for a third instalment to the Gladiator film franchise, inspired by the sequel to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. Gladiator II is set years after Sir Ridley’s historical epic,

“I’ve lit the fuse,” Scott said. “The ending of ‘Gladiator II’ is reminiscent of ‘The Godfather,’ with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?‘ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

Joaquin Phoenix made his breakout performance in 2000’s Gladiator, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Nearly 25 years later, director Ridley Scott revealed that Phoenix nearly dropped out of the role of Commodus at the last minute,

The 2000s Gladiator was a masterpiece, with Russell Crowe leading the film, it was Joaquin Phoenix who had a great impact on the audience. However, the Joker actor had almost quit the project mid-filming.

Joaquin Phoenix had hesitations about his now iconic role in the 2000 historical epic Gladiator, and almost dropped out, according to Ridley Scott. Speaking to The New York Times in a recent interview,

Gladiator' was a "baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning," Ridley Scott said of how he and Joaquin Phoenix approached making the 2000 film According to director Ridley Scott, Joaquin Phoenix nearly dropped out of 2000's Gladiator.