Gladiator 2 is Missing One Major Star

Gladiator 2 brings back some big names, but one star has decided against returning.

It’s not an actor, however. Instead, it’s a composer, and arguably the most famous composer in Hollywood: Hans Zimmer.

Zimmer was responsible for Gladiator’s incredible score in 2000, but you won’t hear his efforts in the upcoming sequel.

The reason? He’s been there, done that.

“It’s really very simple. I’ve done that world. And I think I did it well,” Zimmer tells Curzon. “And all I’d do is set myself up for either trying to repeat myself, which I don’t want to do, or getting slaughtered by critics who say you didn’t do it as well as you did the first time.”

Zimmer has composed some of the most iconic scores in cinema history, including Inception, Dunkirk, The Dark Knight, Dune, and The Lion King.

In fact, it was Zimmer’s experience on The Lion King (2019) that gave him a new outlook on his career.

Related: Gladiator 2 Features Epic Baboon Fight, Says Ridley Scott

“I had that experience doing the live[-action] version of ‘The Lion King.’ I tried to step out of my own vocabulary. Every time I did, it just didn’t work. So all I could do was repeat myself. You owe it to yourself, and to the audience, to try to do new things.”

Gladiator 2 won’t be that new, however. Ridley Scott’s sequel will instead be scored by Harry Gregson Williams - Zimmer’s old assistant.

The film stars Paul Mescal as the now-adult son of Russel Crowe’s Maximus, Lucius. It also includes Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn.

Djimon Hounsou and Derek Jacobi return, as does Connie Nielsen, who reprises her role as Lucius’ mother.

Gladiator 2 releases November 22, 2024