Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Gladiator sequel has not even hit US theaters yet, but the veteran director is already hard at work on a third installment. Scott and Paul Mescal have discussed a new direction for the plot that would not simply “go back to the arena as we know it”

"Given the performance in the rest of the world that we've seen yesterday, there's certainly going to be a Gladiator III," said director Ridley Scott, in Los Angeles on Monday for the movie's glitzy US premiere.