From a Bee Gees biopic to a newAlienmovie to a potentialGladiator III,Ridley Scotthas a handful of exciting upcoming movie projects in the works. Scott is known as one of the hardest-working filmmakers in Hollywood. He hardly ever stops to take a break; by the time he finishes one project, the next one is underway. His latest movie,Gladiator II, is a mega-budget historical epicwith impressive blockbuster scale. Last year, he released a different mega-budget historical epic,Napoleon. In 2021, he releasedThe Last DuelandHouse of Gucciwithin six weeks of each other.
A lot of directors work one project at a time — they focus all their attention on one movie and don’t even start thinking of ideas for another one until it’s in the can — but Scott doesn’t work that way.Scott’s best movieswere all produced in quick succession. He’s scheduled to shoot two new movies next year, and he’s mentioned two more movies that he’s developing on top of that. Scott has a grand total of four movies in development, and there’s something to look forward to in all of them.
4The Dog Stars
Scott has confirmed that his next movie isThe Dog Stars, based on the post-apocalyptic novel of the same name by Peter Heller, originally published in 2012.The Dog Starsrevolves around two men who are desperately trying to survive in the near future after a devastating pandemic has caused the downfall of American society. Scott is adapting the book for 20th Century Studios, from a script byThe Revenantwriter Mark L. Smith. Scott is wasting no time getting this movie off the ground; production onThe Dog Starsis expected to begin in the spring of 2025.
This project was initially reported to reunite Scott with hisGladiator IIstar Paul Mescal, who was set to play the lead role. However, Scott has since cast doubt on whether Mescal will appear in the film due to his busy schedule. Mescal recently signed on to play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ ambitious four-part biopic of the Beatles. Mendes is slated to direct four movies for Sony Pictures, each focusing on a different Beatle, and alongside Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, Mescal is reportedly set to play McCartney.
Scott joked that, due to Mescal’s commitment to the Beatles biopic series,he may have to fire Mescal fromThe Dog Stars. While he was joking about firing Mescal, it is likely that he’ll move forward with the project without Mescal’s involvement. He didn’t entertain the idea of scrapping the project in favor of something else or delaying the shoot to wait for Mescal to be free; he’s still committed to makingThe Dog Starsas his next movie. So, Scott will probably find a new lead actor and get filming underway without Mescal’s services.
It remains to be seen whether audiences will want to see a movie about a pandemic after living through one a couple of years ago. If any other director was involved, it might seem like a bad idea doomed to failure. But Scott is a bold filmmaker who has never backed away from a challenge and has made some of the greatest science fiction films ever made dealing with the grim future of humanity, fromAlientoBlade Runner. If anyone can pull off this post-pandemic thriller in a post-pandemic world, it’s Scott.
3Bee Gees Biopic
After finishing his work onThe Dog Stars,Scott will try his hand at a genre he’s never attempted before: the biopic. Ever sinceBohemian Rhapsodygrossed almost $1 billion, Hollywood has been determined to turn the life story of every musician with name recognition into a blockbuster movie. Scott has a biopic of the Bee Gees set up at Paramount Pictures. Formed by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, the Bee Gees became icons of the disco era in the mid-to-late 1970s, and Scott’s movie will chronicle their meteoric rise to fame.
Scott’s Bee Gees biopic is set to be written by John Logan and Joe Penhall. Logan previously collaborated with Scott when he worked on the scripts forGladiatorandAlien: Covenant. He’s also known for his work on Martin Scorsese’sThe Aviator(another acclaimed biopic), as well asSkyfalland Tim Burton’s movie adaptation ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Penhall, on the other hand, is best known as the creator of the Netflix seriesMindhunter. This screenwriting duo is an interesting combination of sensibilities that should make for an interesting movie.
Although it doesn’t have a title yet, the Bee Gees biopic is lined up to be Scott’s next project afterThe Dog Stars. It’s slated to start filming just a couple of months afterThe Dog Stars. The Bee Gees biopic is set to begin principal photography in London and Miami in September 2025. Scott seems to be planning a back-to-back shoot for both projects. He’ll likely dive into the filming for the Bee Gees biopic while his editor is hard at work piecing together a rough cut ofThe Dog Stars.
2Gladiator III
Given thatGladiator IIis largely just a remake of the first one, there’s been some discussion about whether or notGladiatoreven needed a sequel. But now that it’s been released to critical and commercial success, Scott is already floating ideas for a third movie.The ending ofGladiator IIcertainly leaves the door open for another story. Lucius defeats Macrinus and takes his rightful place on the throne of the Roman Empire. Now, he actually has to rule Rome and figure out a way to keep his promise to restore his grandfather’s dream of a utopia.
When he was out promotingGladiator II,Scott revealed that he’s already written eight pages of a script forGladiator III. He described these pages as a solid opening for the threequel. He said that what he has so far is “the beginning of a very good footprint” for the next film. Scott suggested thatGladiator IIImight not go back into the arena, so the next movie could have a drastic change of scenery. Based on the wayGladiator IIended,Gladiator IIIwould likely be more about the political side of things as Lucius becomes the new emperor.
How Gladiator 2 Sets Up Gladiator 3 & What Ridley Scott Has Said About Making It
The ending of Gladiator 2 leaves the door open for Gladiator 3, and Ridley Scott has already discussed some of his ideas for the potential threequel.
As he was enthusiastically talking upGladiator III,Scott unwittingly spoiled the ending ofGladiator II. Scott compared the ending ofGladiator IIto the ending ofThe Godfatherin that Lucius, much like Michael Corleone, ends up taking a powerful position he never wanted. Scott said thatGladiator IIIwould be similar toThe Godfather Part IIin charting how Lucius adjusts to the demands of his new job. Since it’s still in the early stages of development,Gladiator IIIwon’t be Scott’s next film, but it could be second or third in line.
Gladiator IIhas technically been a box office success; it recentlypassed into the top 50 highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time. But it had such a bloated budget — partly thanks to a pause in the production caused by the 2023 Hollywood strikes — that it’ll probably still be a financial loss for the studio. So, even when Scott is ready to start work onGladiator III, they might not want to make anotherGladiatormovie. But only time will tell if that’s the case.
1New Alien Movie
In addition toThe Dog Stars, a Bee Gees biopic, and aGladiatorthreequel, it’s been reported thatScott is also working on a newAlienmoviein the wake ofAlien: Romulus’ impressive box office success. It seems as though this project will be unrelated toAlien: Romulus, since 20th Century Studios announced a direct sequel toAlien: Romulusas a separate thing. TheRomulusfollow-up will continue the adventures of Rain and Andy as they head to Yvaga. Scott’s movie is likely the final chapter of his unfinished prequel trilogy, which he started withPrometheusandAlien: Covenant.
Alien: Covenantleft Scott’sAlienprequel storyline on a cliffhanger. Michael Fassbender’s nefarious android David snuck back onto the eponymous ship and put the survivors into their cryosleep pods. It wasn’t until Daniels was about to go under that she realized the android putting her to sleep wasn’t the benevolent Walter, but rather the deranged David. David then revealed that he had a couple of xenomorph embryos, which he presumably planned to use to experiment on Daniels. SinceCovenantwas a box office disappointment, Scott never got the chance to continue this story.
There’s no word yet on whether or not Scott’s newAlienmovie will be a direct continuation of thePrometheusprequel timeline. But it’s unlikely that Scott would be returning to theAlienuniverse unless he got the chance to finally complete that story. Now thatPrometheusis being reappraised, it could be the perfect time to revisit this storyline. At age 87, most people are thinking about retirement — the 61-year-oldQuentin Tarantino insists he only has one movie left in him— butRidley Scottis keeping himself busy with four giant blockbuster productions lined up back-to-back.
Ridley Scott
Discover the latest news and filmography for Ridley Scott, known for Gladiator and Blade Runner.
