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Ridley Scott is promising mind-blowing action in Gladiator 2, and it looks like he's going to use artificial intelligence to help achieve that goal.
In a new interview with Empire magazine, Scott said, “The movie starts with probably the biggest action scene I've ever done, probably bigger than any scene in 'Napoleon.'”
Gladiator II will be released 20 years after the original Oscar-winning film starring Russell Crowe, with Paul Mescal taking over the lead role alongside Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.
In the first trailer, Mescal's character Lucious is seen facing off against a giant rhinoceros.
Ridley Scott told Empire magazine that “we need to embrace it” when it comes to AI and other technology. (Desiree Navarro/WireImage)
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Scott told Empire magazine that he combined several technologies to create the giant beast.
“You have to embrace computerization and AI,” the “Alien” director said. “You can have a computer read every molecule and wrinkle in a rhino and then cut it into a thick piece of plastic that's the exact body of a rhino and mold it into the shape of a skeleton.”
The award-winning director wouldn't say what kind of “computerization and AI” was used, or whether generative AI was involved in any way.
The “skeleton” was mounted on an electronic trolley and moved according to digital instructions.
“I have something that can go 40 miles per hour, spin on the spot, shake its head and roar,” Scott told the outlet. “A two-ton rhino with a man on its back. It's a lot of fun.”
According to an interview with Empire magazine, the rhinos in Gladiator 2 were a technological feat that Scott achieved in part with the help of AI. (Paramount Pictures)
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There is also a scene where the amphitheater is submerged to recreate a naval battle, and sharks even appear underwater.
Scott proposed the idea to screenwriter David Scarpa because it was something he had wanted to do since the original Gladiator but felt was technically limited.
“Computerization and AI, we have to embrace it.”
— Ridley Scott
“They wouldn't have been able to really accomplish something of that magnitude and importance, but now they can. So that was definitely something we were looking to incorporate from the beginning,” he said.
Scott's comments that we “have to embrace” AI appear to reverse previous comments he has made about the technology.
At left, Scott with actor Paul Mescal during the filming of “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures).
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Last December, the Blade Runner director told Rolling Stone magazine that he fears AI will take over society.
“AI has to be contained, but I don't know how to contain it,” he told the outlet. “There's a debate within the government about, 'How do we contain AI?' But are you kidding me? You can never contain it. Once it's out, it's out.”
He continued: “If I were to design an AI, I would design a computer whose first job is to design another computer smarter than the first one. And when those computers come together, you're in trouble, because that computer can take over the entire electronic currency system of the world and shut it down. That would be the first disaster. It would be a technological hydrogen bomb. Think about what that means.”
The 86-year-old also spoke about AI in the context of last summer's actors and writers strike.
Last December, Scott called AI a “technological hydrogen bomb.” (Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage)
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“They really shouldn't be allowing this to happen, and I don't know how they can get this under control,” he said.
Regarding generative AI, he added: “There's something uncreative about data. Computers make pictures, but I don't think it can be used for anything special, something that requires emotion and soul – although I'm not convinced. That said, I still have concerns.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Scott's representatives for further comment but did not immediately receive a response.
