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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Ridley Scott rebuilds Rome for ‘Gladiator II’

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows director Ridley Scott, center, Paul Mescal on the set of "Gladiator II." (Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows director Ridley Scott, center, Paul Mescal on the set of "Gladiator II." (Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures via AP) This image released by Paramount Pictures shows director Ridley Scott, center, Paul Mescal on the set of "Gladiator II." (Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures via AP)


NEW YORK (AP) — An inevitable fact of interviewing Ridley Scott is that, whatever movie he’s about to release, you’ll find him already knee-deep in his next project.

Scott, Hollywood’s perpetual rolling stone even at age 86, may be preparing to unveil “Gladiator II,” one of his biggest epics yet, but at the moment he’s got the Bee Gees on the brain. Scott is developing a biopic on the Gibb brothers. On a recent Zoom call from his office in Los Angeles, he was surrounded by meticulously plotted storyboards.

Scott is enthusiastic about the project. “I think the word is beyond talented. They were gifted,” he says — even if the Bee Gees brand of music seems quite distant from the no-nonsense British director.

“I’m not a disco guy,” Scott says. “I dance like a (expletive) plowman.”