Ridley Scott rebuilds Rome for 'Gladiator II'

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.

Scott is on more familiar turf in "Gladiator II," which Paramount Pictures will release Nov. 22. He's back in ancient Rome, among sandals, swords and glistening biceps, for a sequel to his best picture-winning "Gladiator," with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. "Gladiator II" is set a couple decades after that film. It focuses on the grandson of former emperor Marcus Aurelius — a minor character in "Gladiator" now played by Paul Mescal — who's mentored as a gladiator by a former slave with aspirations of seizing Rome, Macrinus (Denzel Washington). Pedro Pascal co-stars as the Roman general Marcus Acacius.

"Sequels are always kind of suspect," says Scott. "But to begin with, we had a good logical stepping stone into who next, who survived and where did he go."

Aside from numerous "Alien" films, Scott has largely eschewed sequels throughout his career. "Gladiator II" had been in development, off and on, for two decades, though. And it ultimately swelled to one of Scott's most massive projects — which is saying something for a filmmaker who just...