Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was a massive critical and commercial hit when it landed in theaters back in May of 2000. However, it didn’t exactly scream franchise considering that the main character died after redeeming himself in the end as he got justice for the murder of his family.
Of course, its success inspired a whole slew of similar movies that sprung up in its wake, like Troy, The Last Samurai, Alexander, King Arthur, Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood, the latter of which reunited Scott with star Russell Crowe. It’d be fair to say that none of them could reach the same heights as Gladiator, though, and to this day, it still remains a hugely popular pic.
In fact, there’s been talk of a sequel for some time now, with Nick Cave’s interesting time travel idea that would’ve had Crowe returning as Maximus and appearing at various points throughout history being mentioned a lot. Then there’s the chatter that Chris Hemsworth may be involved somehow, a concept that YouTuber StryderHD has run with in their latest video, which shows us how a sequel to the film might turn out with the Thor actor in the lead role.
Admittedly, the trailer is a bit choppy and though it’s billed as Gladiator 2, it seems to be more of a reboot than a direct follow-up, but it’s still an intriguing taste of how Hemsworth could look in the film’s universe. As mentioned above, nothing’s officially in production just yet, but at this stage, it certainly seems likely that we’ll be seeing more from the property.
And who knows? Chris Hemsworth might be the one to lead the next chapter and put the series in front of a whole new audience, one that’s ready to be entertained.