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After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now rule Rome, Lucius is forced into the Colosseum and must look to his past to find the strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.. In the years following liberation since the first film, there have been numerous attempts to write a sequel. Musician Nick Cave was invited to write a version by Russell Crowe and Sir Ridley Scott. His version focused on the more mythic elements of Ancient Rome and would have seen Maximus arrive in the afterlife, only to be confronted by other souls who have yet to ascend further. Finally, he is commissioned by Jupiter and other Roman deities to return to earth to find and kill Hephaestus, a former deity who betrayed them. From there, he is resurrected as a Christian and finds himself traveling back to Rome on a mission to stop the spread of Christianity as he crosses paths with the new emperor, Lucius. The film would have ended with Maximus being cursed to live forever, showing a montage of the soldier fighting through the Crusades, World War II, and the Vietnam War, eventually revealing a modern-day Maximus working at the Pentagon in Washington. The studio decided not to proceed with this version, but the script is available to read online.. Emperor Geta: The Gods Have Spoken!. Featured in The 19:00 Project: July 3, 2024 episode (2024)