Gladiator 2 production restarts in Malta after the “deteriorating” sets are repaired by set builders and crew members.
It’s time to get back to work! The end of the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike is finally here, and production for some of Hollywood’s most anticipated films can resume! With writers, actors, crew members, and more returning to Tinseltown, cinephiles can expect release date shuffles, reshoots, and creative shake-ups for projects across the entertainment spectrum. For example, Riley Scott’s Gladiator 2 will return to production when set builders repair the project’s elaborate filming environments.
In Malta, sets for Gladiator 2 are in disrepair. Months of neglect have caused the open-air set to “deteriorate” since July. The damaged locations include a massive recreation of ancient Rome, including a lifesize Coliseum desperate for some TLC – tender loving care, not the classic, safe-sex positive hip-hop band. While the crew prepares to return to the area, Scott is busy editing the 90 minutes of footage he managed to capture before the strikes told Hollywood to take a time out.
The first Gladiator movie was shot in Malta over twenty years ago and reportedly left around €21 million in the Maltese economy. There was no rebate plan then, so the government didn’t need to return any money for the privilege. “This time round, we’re giving the sequel €46.7 million against a local direct expenditure of not more than €55 million, so we’d be lucky as a country if we manage to end up with €10 million in our economy,” said a top industry insider. The Malta government has claimed that the movie industry has injected €85 million into Malta over the last year but hasn’t explained how that money made it into the economy.
Ridley Scott directs the Gladiator sequel from a script by David Scarpa (All The Money In the World). The film stars Paul Mescal (Aftersun) as Lucius, the young boy who idolized Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the original movie. The cast also includes Denzel Washington (The Equalizer 3), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), Connie Nielsen (Wonder Woman), May Calamawy (Moon Knight), Lior Raz (The Crowded Room), Peter Mensah (Spartacus), Matt Lucas (Wonka), Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus), and Derek Jacobi (Murder on the Orient Express). Russell Crowe isn’t involved in the new Gladiator movie, but he did express a slight amount of jealousy about the experience Mescal has ahead of him.
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