Gladiator 2: Ridley Scott Says He Didn't Make the Same Mistake as Many of His Other Films

The director has promised that the sequel to Gladiator will not have a Director's Cut.

Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

There are now just a few days left until the release of Gladiator 2, the highly anticipated sequel by Ridley Scott, which the director has promised will be even better than the legendary first chapter starring Russell Crowe. Although this statement remains to be verified, one thing is certain: Scott says he is extremely satisfied with the film, and, this time, he has not made the mistakes he found in some of his previous works. One of the distinctive features of Ridley Scott's filmography is the frequent use of the Director's Cut, a subsequent version in which the director can present his complete vision of the film. 

Iconic works such as Alien and Blade Runner have seen new lives through these revisited edits. However, Scott recently assured me that this will not happen with Gladiator 2. In an interview with Collider, the director explained: “I have earned the right to have my final version. I have the final cut, so what you see is my fault, it’s my version. I don’t worry about what I cut in the editing. I don’t get to the end of the movie and start cutting: I make changes as I go along, it’s a continuous process because you have to monitor how everything comes together.” 

With these words, Scott takes full responsibility for the final result of the film, confirming that he didn’t have to make creative compromises. This is a different situation from the one he experienced with his recent film Napoleon, in which the theatrical cut didn’t fully reflect his vision. In that case, the Director’s Cut was only later released on Apple TV+.

As for the running time of Gladiator 2, the film will have a length of 148 minutes (2 hours and 28 minutes), slightly less than the first chapter, which lasted 155 minutes. For the predecessor, there is also an extended version of 170 minutes, but it seems that in the sequel there was less material to explore than the original story. As we await its premiere, it remains to be seen whether Gladiator 2 will be able to exceed expectations and achieve the cult status of its predecessor, but with Scott at the helm and creative control in his hands, fans of the director can expect a work that fully reflects his vision.