36/20
After his homeland is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now rule Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look into his past to find the strength to restore the glory of Rome to its people. In the years following the release of the first film, there were numerous attempts to write a sequel. Musician Nick Cave was invited by Russell Crowe and Sir Ridley Scott to write a version. His version focused on the more mythical elements of ancient Rome and would have seen Maximus arrive in the afterlife only to face other souls who have yet to ascend further. Eventually, he is tasked by Jupiter and other Roman deities to return to Earth to find and kill Hephaestus, a former deity who betrayed them. From there, he is resurrected as a Christian and travels back to Rome to stop the spread of Christianity, crossing paths with the new emperor Lucius. The film would have ended with Maximus cursed to live forever. It would have featured a montage of the soldier fighting his way through the Crusades, World War II, and the Vietnam War, and finally showed a modern-day Maximus working at the Pentagon in Washington. The studio decided not to make this version, but the script is available online. Emperor Geta: The Gods Have Spoken!. Featured in The 7PM Project: July 3, 2024 episode (2024)