A sequel to the Academy Award winning Gladiator has long been rumored to be in the works. But now it appears to be moving forward at Paramount with original director Ridley Scott attached.

According to Deadline, who first broke the news, the plot of the Gladiator sequel will follow Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), and nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Russell Crowe’s Maximus, who met his end by the close of Gladiator, left a lasting impression on Lucius, so it makes some sense to see the story continue on through that particular character.

Peter Craig (The Town, Top Gun: Maverick) is slated to write the sequel, Ridley Scott developing the movie under his Scott Free banner, with an eye to also direct.

The original Gladiator was made by Dreamworks and distributed by Universal. Per Deadline, Universal has the option to co-finance the project, but Dreamworks have opted not to be involved. Instead, Paramount will produce the sequel alongside Scott Free, Red Wagon’s Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher, and Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald of Parkes + MacDonald.

Scott has several other productions in development alongside the potential Gladiator sequel, including a television series called Raised By Wolves for TNT, as well as an adaptation of T.A. Barron’s The Merlin Saga for Disney.