The Big Picture

Gladiator II
, which is slated for a November 22 release, stars Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington.
Ridley Scott wanted a rhino in
Gladiator
but opted for tigers due to budget concerns.

Gladiator II
finally includes a rhino battle scene, which was what Scott had in his original vision.

For over two decades, Gladiator fans have lamented the loss of a cut action sequence — a Colosseum battle featuring Maximus (Russell Crowe) squaring off against a rhinoceros with a surly disposition. Sadly, the scene was cut from the film due to the high price tag associated with computer effects in the early 2000s. However, the scene exists in the form of crude storyboards and CG test footage accessible through a hidden Easter egg deep within the menus of the original DVD release. The secretive nature of the Easter egg gave the cut sequence an almost mythic reputation…if you knew, you knew. Now, all these years later, Ridley Scott is finally delivering on his original vision for the highly-anticipated and star-studded Gladiator II.

Gladiator A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Release Date May 5, 2000 Runtime 155 minutes Writers David Franzoni , John Logan , William Nicholson Tagline The general who became a slave… The slave who became a gladiator… The gladiator who defied an empire… Expand

Russell Crowe’s Maximus Was Supposed To Fight a Rhino in ‘Gladiator’
There’s a lot to like about Ridley Scott’s Roman epic. For starters, unforgettable performances by Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix elevated the film to Oscar caliber (both were nominated for Academy Awards with Crowe himself bringing home the statue). To boot, the setting of Rome was so convincing one could almost taste the kicked up Colosseum dirt in their mouths. It was a full meal of a movie which left fans satisfied — that is, until they navigated the menus of the first issue DVD and discovered a hidden Easter egg.

Deep within the chapter selection screen, viewers could click on a mysterious symbol which carried them to a hidden section full of secret files. There, one could see storyboards of a Colosseum fight pitting Maximus against a charging rhino. Another file even included CG test footage of the rhino (which, by 2000s standards, is very convincing)! All of a sudden, fans were left wondering how the movie would have shaped with the inclusion of the scene. Thus, the “Legend of the Rhino” was born.

Ridley Scott Wanted a Rhino Shipped to ‘Gladiator’s Set

During Gladiator’s production in 1999, shot primarily in Malta just south of Sicily, director Ridley Scott found himself in a pickle. The shoot date for a big second act fight sequence between Maximus and a veteran gladiator billed as “Tigris” was fast approaching. The script called for Joaquin Phoenix’s devilish emperor, Commodus, to throw a wild card element into the fight: a raging rhinoceros. Within the plot, the fight was promoted as a spectacle for the masses, but its true intention was to guarantee the death of Maximus despite the collateral damage. There was only one problem: Scott didn’t have a rhino.

After placing phone calls all over the Mediterranean and the surrounding continents, Scott found a trainer willing to travel to the small island nation with a rhino in tow. But the initial phone call took a worrying turn when the trainer relayed a key piece of information to the production team. In Scott’s own words via The Hollywood Reporter:

“When we talked about the different exotic animals in the movie, we called an animal trainer and said, ‘Hey, can you show up in Malta with a rhino?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, we can definitely do that and work with them. There’s just one problem. When they start moving, you can’t stop them.'”

Understandably, this gave Scott pause. A horned freight train in the middle of an already hectic film set could have been a recipe for disaster (and a cause of indigestion for Universal execs). So, Scott pivoted to CGI where, shortly, two VFX houses vied for the contract: Tippett Studios in Berkeley and PDI Dreamworks in Redwood City. Each submitted test animations as well as hefty price tags, which gave Scott a major case of sticker shock. It was then that Scott made the crushing decision to scrap the rhino altogether. Coincidentally, this was Scott’s second time rejecting Tippett Studios for a bid. According to Phil Tippett, Scott’s producers had reached out to the VFX house during the production of Blade Runner for the creation of a stop-motion owl. In both cases, the price tag would have broken the budget.

Using Tigers Made More Sense for ‘Gladiator’s Tone
Image via Paramount Pictures

In lieu of a CG rhinoceros, Scott called on production to find a handful of tigers for the fight scene (a much easier ask than highly endangered rhinos). On paper, they seemed like a worthy alternative. After all, tigers are dangerous apex predators that strike fear with just a growl, right? But when cameras began rolling during the fight, the tigers were…unmotivated. They chose to lounge around like house cats instead of being vicious man-eaters the film needed them to be. No one knows for sure why the tigers were lackadaisical that day. Maybe the heat or fatigue from travel? But cameras rolled nonetheless, and the results were convincing enough. Through the help of clever editing, carefully spliced inserts of snarling tigers helped maintain the scene’s tension. Light CGI was also employed to make it seem as if Maximus was fending off the beasts with his shield and gladius.

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The final product was compelling (and on budget). But perhaps most importantly, it adhered to the film’s tone. Introducing something so fantastical as a rhino during a key character moment may have thrown the feel of the movie off by a few hairs. By keeping the tigers in the background, the camera could focus on the hero’s expressions as he fought one of the most formidable opponents the film offered. Even though real-life rhino battles were recorded in the Colosseum logbooks, a more subtle approach to combat made the scene go a long way (and created a classic confrontation in the process).

‘Gladiator II’ Is Finally Giving Ridley His Rhino Moment
Image via Paramount Pictures

Paramount released the first trailer for Gladiator II, which stars Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, and Connie Nielsen, and it is a barn-burner. Everything we know and love about the original film seemed to be cranked up to an eleven. The fights are bigger, the drama is juicier, the villains are smarmier, and, lo and behold, a rhinoceros is featured smack-dab in the middle of the Colosseum floor! And by the look of it, they didn’t skimp on the budget this time around. With a bloodied tusk and a truly frightening charging speed, this rhino is as fearsome as fans had imagined since the year 2000.

One can only hope the sequence will live up to the legend it has created, but its presence in the film is already buying goodwill among fans. Is the inclusion of the rhino a nod to the longtime faithful? Or perhaps Ridley Scott finishing what he started all those years ago? Either way, Gladiator fans are about to get what they’ve always wanted — and deserved.

Gladiator is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.

WATCH ON PARAMOUNT+