Novelist and musician Nick Cave wrote a sequel to Gladiator at the request of the first film’s lead, Russell Crowe. The studio turned down the draft.

According to the Guardian, fans uncovered a copy of the script, that includes Roman gods, time travel, early Christians, and ends with Crowe’s resurrected character fighting in World War II and Vietnam. Cave is the author of “And the Ass Saw the Angel” and the upcoming novel, “The Death of Bunny Munro.”

Gladiator‘s director, Ridley Scott, explained in the article: “Russell didn’t want to let it go, obviously, because it worked very well. When I say ‘worked very well’, I don’t refer to success. I mean, as a piece it works very well. Storytelling, [it] works brilliantly. I think [Cave] enjoyed doing it.” (Via Ryan Chapman)