As it stands, it looks as though Cave's draft - which is totally real and not a joke, by the way - has been shelved in favour of a new screenplay by Peter Craig. Details are light, but Deadline reports that 'Gladiator 2' will focus on the reign of Lucius, the nephew of Commodus. Joaquin Phoenix gave a truly scenery-chewing performance as Commodus in the first one, whilst Lucius was played by a very young Spencer Treat Clark.

'Gladiator' was a big moment for Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott. Crowe took home an Oscar for Best Actor whilst the movie itself won Best Picture, and revitalised the idea of sword-and-sandal epics having a place in Hollywood. Scott, meanwhile, had a series of duds that included'White Squall', '1492: Conquest Of Paradise' and 'GI Jane'.

No release date has been set as of yet for 'Gladiator 2', but don't be surprised if this takes quite a while to get off the ground.