With both writers and actors on strike, it has become exceedingly difficult for movies to film, but that hasn’t stopped some of them from trying. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel reportedly didn’t stop filming when the actors' strike first started, but now the production is in trouble. Although it's not with the Screen Actors Guild, but with PETA.
TMZ reports that director Ridley Scott has received a letter from PETA complaining about the treatment of animals on the set of the sequel. The animal rights organization claims they were informed by a whistleblower that at least one horse collapsed on the set of the film, allegedly due to the horse being dressed in a heavy costume and left in the direct sun for a prolonged period.
In addition, Gladiator 2 is reportedly using macaque monkeys on the set, where they interact with humans. PETA warns that macaques are difficult to work with and can be violent, and as such, it is inappropriate for Gladiator 2 to use them under any circumstances.
It’s unclear when these alleged animal incidents occurred, but the letters from PETA were apparently sent within the last few days, and all of this may have transpired in the period since the SAG strike began. While nearly all movie productions shut down immediately after the strike started, Gladiator 2 initially attempted to continue filming by focusing on shooting crowd scenes and using body doubles, with hopes that the strike would be short and production with the main actors could resume. The idea of filming scenes using animals would certainly have also fit with this strategy.
Gladiator 2 has reportedly stopped filming since this initial plan was allegedly in place, so it is in the same holding pattern, waiting to see what happens. While there may have been some hope the SAG strike would be short lived, with each day that seems less likely, especially with the WGA strike happening simultaneously, and each strike offering support to the other.
Certainly, nobody wants to see animals injured on the set of a movie, and nobody wants to see humans injured by animals. Even if a horse did collapse, it’s possible that was even after all possible precautions were taken. It does not appear that Ridley Scott or anybody involved in Gladiator 2 has responded to the letters, nor have they spoken to the media about them, so we don’t know what happened if there’s another side to the story.
At some point, the Gladiator 2 cast will return and the movie will go back into production. Hopefully going forward, any issues will be addressed and the set will be a safe place for both human and animal actors. Gladiator 2 details are somewhat sparse at the moment, but the film is expected to be part of the 2024 movie schedule, assuming the strikes do not cause a significant delay.
