1. Gladiator 2: Christ Killer
Though the original Gladiator played fast and loose with history, it won several awards, so we’ll let that slide. One of the most epic swords-and-sandals movies of all time, Russell Crowe’s iconic turn as Maximus is unforgettable, and it made a lot of studio bigwigs very rich once upon a time. So much so, in fact, that Nick Cave (yes, that Nick Cave) was approached to pen a sequel about Maximus – despite the fact that he died at the end of the original movie.
Refusing to back away from the challenge, Cave wrote a script. Apparently titled Gladiator 2: Christ Killer, it followed Maximus to purgatory, where he was approached by the dying gods to kill Christ (or a Christ-like figure, at least). Yes, Gladiator 2 would have seen the gladiator resurrected with the specific purpose of murdering the Messiah and his followers.
What makes this all the more baffling is that Gladiator contained no fantastical elements whatsoever. Why anyone ever thought that idea might work is beyond us, but thankfully, both the studio and Crowe passed on the movie. Decades later, an idea for an actual sequel came along, so it all worked out well in the end. Still, Russell Crowe killing Jesus would have been something to behold, wouldn’t it?
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