Maximus was placed 12th in the Total Film list of 50 best movie heroes and villains and 35th in the Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Gladiator has an approval rating of 79% based on 253 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While not everyone will be entertained by Gladiators glum revenge story, Russell Crowe thunderously wins the crowd with a star-making turn that provides Ridley Scott's opulent resurrection of Rome a bruised heart." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Future In June 2001, developments for a Gladiator follow-up began in the form of potential for either a prequel or a sequel, with David Franzoni in early negotiations to once again serve as screenwriter. The following year, a sequel was announced to be moving forward with John Logan serving as screenwriter. The plot, set fifteen years later, included the Praetorian Guards rule of Rome and an older-aged Lucius searching for the truth about his biological father. Franzoni signed on as producer, alongside Douglas Wick and Walter Parkes. In December 2002, the film's plot was announced to include prequel events regarding the parentage of Lucius, as well as sequel events depicting the resurrection of Maximus. Producers and Russell Crowe collaboratively researched extensively, ancient Roman beliefs regarding the afterlife. By September 2003, Scott announced that the script was completed, while confirming that the story would primarily center around the secret son of Maximus, being Lucius. In May 2006, Scott stated that while development on the project continues, the exact story to the film has yet to be figured out. The filmmaker stated that all creative minds that were involved with Gladiator, are working on how to continue from where the story left off. Scott stated that Crowe had favored a fantasy element that would bring Maximus back to life, while the filmmaker stated that he believes a grounded historical-fiction approach was the better option. The filmmaker confirmed that Lucius will be revealed as the son of Maximus and Lucilla, while stating that the script will be more complex compared to the first movie with the corruption of Rome. During this time, Nick Cave was commissioned to write a new draft of the script which he wrote under the working title of "Christ Killer". The writer described the plot