With an amazing filmography as a director that now spans six decades, Ridley Scott is certainly a name that belongs among any conversation about iconic directors. Back in 1979, he immortalized himself with what was just his second feature film at the time. That film was, of course, Alien, one that immediately set Scott apart as an amazing director and gave him a reputation for creating wonderfully crafted and very atmospheric films.
Proving he wasn’t a one-hit-wonder, Scott went on to direct many other amazing features like Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down — films that have garnered nine Academy Award wins between them.
Although Ridley Scott has yet to personally win an Oscar himself, he’s been nominated for Best Director three times. However, as brilliant as his legacy has been (he’s even been knighted because of it), Scott hasn’t had much success in the realm of sequels. Of those he’s done, Hannibal, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant, none have ever come close to garnering the kind of acclaim or fan approval as the original films they followed. In fact, Prometheus was widely panned by fans of the Alien franchise, with Scott being heavily criticized for the way he handled it.
After all his ups and downs, the director is again trending as audiences everywhere eagerly anticipate his next major film and latest sequel attempt, Gladiator 2. Given how successful the first film was, it’s clear that Scott has his work cut out in order to make it a worthy sequel. However, his missteps with Prometheus can go a long way in ensuring the film is a success, critically, commercially, and among fans and audiences in general — that is, if he learns from them and doesn’t repeat them.
Alien and Aliens Gave Prometheus Big Shoes to Fill
If it seems slightly counter-intuitive to be discussing things that went wrong with Prometheus, that’s because, in some ways, it is. After all, the film was both a critical and commercial success. On those fronts, it almost tripled its budget, earning over $400 million at the box office, and received a plethora of award nominations, including an Academy Award and BAFTA nomination for its special effects.
Despite the film’s obvious great qualities, one thing it could never do was shake off the specter of the original film’s overwhelming popularity with fans. The original Alien is now considered a classic film, one that made icons out of Scott himself and others, like Sigourney Weaver, through her role as Ripley. Sparking a franchise, James Cameron accomplished a rare achievement when he directed the immediate sequel, Aliens, and pulled off a film that most fans agree was actually better than the original.
In fact, during an interview with Deadline, Scott mentioned how gutted he was at not getting the call back to direct Aliens.
I knew I’d done something very special, a one-off really. I was hurt, deeply hurt, actually because at that moment, I think I was damaged goods because I was trying to recover from
Blade Runner
.
Unfortunately, that film’s success also had the effect of somewhat overshadowing Scott’s achievements with Alien, and adding an even larger weight of expectation to the franchise’s standards.
What Went Wrong with Prometheus?
While the next two installments, Alien 3 (David Fincher) and AlienResurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) had their merits, they were undeniably major step-downs from the first two films. So, when Ridley Scott returned to direct the fifth installment, Prometheus, the weight of expectation returned too and continued a trend that started with Blade Runner. As good as it was, taking its place in the Alien franchise meant it was inevitably compared to its best films, and what fans loved best about them. In that aspect, the film was deemed too highbrow and disconnected from the main franchise.
While it took place in the Alien universe, Scott and others were coy about Prometheus being a direct sequel right up to it being revealed to actually be a direct prequel that expanded on the franchise’s lore, but never lived up to its cinematic legacy. While it did answer questions posed by Alien, most fans weren’t interested in what was a well cultivated, but overly donnish approach to the film. Fans of Alien had come to expect amazing battles between the characters and the now infamous Xenomorphs, not just an intellectually charged exposition of their creation.
In short, no one cared that much how they were created, and if anything, preferred them to remain mindless beasts hellbent on inflicting violence on any humans they encountered, so they could concentrate on cheering on the humans.
Why Fans Are so Excited About Gladiator 2
On the other hand, widely regarded as Ridley Scott’s best film, Gladiator suffered from no such problems as it was a standalone film at the time and vastly different from Scott’s other work in the Alien franchise. What he managed with it turned out to be an amazing cinematic spectacle. Replete with terrific performances from the likes of Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix, with the former winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film, Gladiator is often thought of as a modern masterpiece.
Ridley Scott’s already fantastic reputation soared to even greater heights as a result, since the film was nominated for a whopping 12 Oscars in total, winning five of them — including Best Picture! Now, almost 25 years later, fans of the director and the original film are gearing up to be wowed again, with Gladiator 2 expected to be released later this year.
With so much to love about the first film, Ridley Scott is at the helm again, together with another amazing cast that’s set to include the likes of Denzel Washington, Barry Keoghan, and Pedro Pascal this time. Given all it has going for it in theory, Gladiator 2 faces much of the same expectations Prometheus once did.
What Can Ridley Scott Learn from Prometheus for Gladiator 2?
Although Gladiator 2 will be released nearly a quarter of a century after the first film, fans already have a blueprint of expectations it will need to live up to. There’s no doubt the film will be another amazing spectacle. However, as superb as Gladiator’s effects and fight scenes were, it was its performances that truly made it stand out. Russell Crow was scintillating as Maximus, with Joaquin Phoenix providing the perfect supporting accompaniment as Commodus. However, neither actor will feature in the sequel, as both characters were killed in the first film.
While stars like Connie Nielson and Djimon Hounsou from the first film have made it into the sequel, for the most part, this will likely be a very different story. However, what can derail it from being a worthy sequel is if the film chooses to depart from the original so much that the pair have virtually just a thin veil of meta similarities in plot and identity that tie them together.
If Gladiator 2 chooses to ignore most of the same traits, standards, and story structure as Gladiator, there’s a good chance that it could suffer much of the same criticism that Prometheus did when it was compared to Alien.
The Unbearable Weight Modern Studio Interference
Many people believe a sequel didn’t need to be made. With the first film being such a brilliant self-contained story, this is understandable. However, as we live in an age where the profitability of reboots and revivals matter more than the legacy of franchises, it’s entirely possible that sense never made into the argument when judged against the sumptuous possibility of it riding the coattails of Gladiator all the way to being another smash hit as the box office, regardless of its quality.
With modern films often being criticized for studio executives forcing their offerings to pander in some way, any accusations of Gladiator 2 going even remotely in a woke direction (whether merited or not), will likely also contribute to it failing as a sequel and only managing to tarnish a great film’s legacy rather than expanding it.
Additionally, just as Prometheus’ characters failed to resonate as much as Ripley did, Gladiator 2 will need to replicate as much gravitas and audience engagement as Russell Crowe did with Maximus to even come close to being as successful as it. With Alien: Romulus also set for a late 2024 release, if its director, Fede Álavarez, is able to succeed where Ridley Scott failed with Prometheus, there’s a good chance Romulus may wind up upstaging Gladiator 2.
Since Ridley Scott is such an iconic and brilliant director, here’s to hoping Gladiator 2 isn’t simply destined to become another Prometheus all over again. Only time will tell!
