After successfully revisiting both Alien and Blade Runner in recent years, it looks like Ridley Scott is ready to dive back into the world of yet another of his most iconic films. There have been rumours about a Gladiator follow-up almost since the original movie hit theatres back in 2000. Originally envisioned as a prequel, the project eventually morphed into a sequel that would either focus on the son of Maximus or a reincarnated Maximus. Now we are hearing that a sequel is back in development and potentially closer to happening than it ever has been. Hit the jump for more info.

According to Deadline, Paramount is in active development on a Gladiator sequel with Universal retaining a possible option to co-finance. Ridley Scott is leading the charge creatively and is hoping to direct with Peter Craig (The Town, Top Gun: Maverick) penning the script. The movie is expected to revolve around Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who was played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original film.

One of the earlier versions of the sequel had Lucius revealed to be the son of Maximus, but it sounds like that is no longer the plan. Nick Cave also supposedly wrote a script that found Maximus being reincarnated by the Roman gods and eventually fighting in other time periods including WWII, the Vietnam War, and modern day. Yikes… sounds like they dodged a bullet on that one. Ridley Scott has stated that he still wants Russell Crowe to reprise his role as Maximus, but it is unclear how that would happen. Would you be excited to see a Gladiator sequel?