New Anthony Hopkins Series Those About To Die Created A Problem For Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2

Lots of things make Ridley Scott grumpy. Critics of "Blade Runner" make him grumpy. All of those millennials not watching "The Last Duel" make him grumpy. The idea of making "wizard films" for Disney makes him grumpy. The world seems like one big inconvenience to the octogenarian, to the extent that it's not really accurate to say these things make him grumpy. Much like Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner in "The Avengers," the secret to Scott's remarkably durable crotchetiness is that he's always grumpy.

None of this, of course, takes away from the man's equally remarkable filmography. While there are several dubious entries on that list, anyone who made "Blade Runner" is, in my opinion, unimpeachably brilliant. Still, I implore you to take a quick peek at Scott's Wikipedia page and marvel at the sheer level of irascibility emanating from his photo in what is surely the most accurate visual representation of a man's aura on the site.

Though this particular image was taken back in 2015, I like to think this is exactly how the famed director looked when he was told he couldn't shoot parts of his long-awaited "Gladiator II" in a key Rome location. After all, the Italian capital is where the film itself is set, so shooting on-location would have surely been of importance for Scott. Alas, he was beaten to the punch by another British national treasure: Sir Anthony Hopkins.

"Gladiator II" will arrive on November 22, 2024, almost 25 years after the original Russell Crowe-led film debuted. Judging by the trailer for "Gladiator II," there will be plenty of epic action, including star Paul Mescal battling a rhino. But what we won't see, apparently, is Mescal doing battle at Italy's Cinecittà Studios. 

The largest studio in Italy, Cinecittà is located just outside Rome and has hosted such prestigious productions throughout its almost 90-year history as "Roman Holiday" (1953), "Ben-Hur" (1959), and "Cleopatra" (1963). More recently, the HBO series "Rome" shot at the studio, while filmmakers from Francis Ford Coppola to Martin Scorsese have used the impressive facilities. If there were an awkward 'Bollywood'-like portmanteau for Italian cinema, Cinecittà would be the hub. Fortunately, nobody has yet tried to make 'Italianowood' work, but Cinecittà is certainly at the heart of cinema Italiano.

So you can imagine that Ridley Scott was quite excited to set up at the esteemed studio for "Gladiator II," and he was likely a bit peeved to learn that he wasn't actually allowed to shoot there. Why? Because Anthony Hopkins and his new sword-and-sandals TV show, "Those About to Die," beat him to it.

The new Peacock series is directed by Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner, and it's set in Ancient Rome. While "Gladiator II" looks set to deliver on epic drama, there'll be no shortage of the same here, with "Those About to Die" focusing on the "corrupt world of gladiatorial sports," as per the official press release. Hopkins will play Roman Emperor Vespasian. Naturally, a show as grand as this required a suitable shooting location, and it seems Cinecittà provided exactly what Emmerich and crew needed, much to the dismay of Scott.

After multiple rumors, stops and starts, and an unproduced Nick Cave "Gladiator" sequel script, the legendary Ridley Scott was finally moved to make "Gladiator II," largely because, as the director so candidly put it, "economically, it makes sense." But he was also intrigued by the idea of following Lucius Verus II, the young boy who witnessed the fall of Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the original film, who will now be portrayed by Paul Mescal in the sequel. With all this build-up, then, being prevented from shooting at Cinecittà must have been a significant blow to Ridley Scott and his crew.

According to Robert Rodat, creator, writer and executive producer of "Those About to Die," there was no subterfuge involved. Instead, it was simply a case of the show managing to book Cinecittà before Scott. When the director approached the studio, he was informed that it was unavailable. Rodat elaborated on the debacle to Empire (via NBC), saying, "It's not a competition, but there are limited assets in Rome and it's my understanding that [Scott] was disappointed that he wasn't able to shoot there. For that, I apologize!"

Apologies will get you nowhere with the famously irascible Ridley Scott, Mr. Rodat, but we understand not wanting to stoke the man's ire any further. After being turned away by Cinecittà, Scott was, according to People, forced to shoot the majority of "Gladiator II" in Morocco and Malta. What's more, his production was halted part-way through by the Hollywood strikes of 2023. All of this made for the perfect cocktail of mishaps to elicit what must have been some unprecedented Scott grumpiness. Let's hope as the press tour continues we get to hear more of the director's famously candid takes on the whole affair.