Game Of Thrones Meets Gladiator In Ridley Scott's 189-Minute Epic That Deserved Better

Published Aug 26, 2026, 12:15 PM EDT Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. The Game of Thrones franchise meets the Gladiator movies in Ridley Scott's 189-minute epic action movie that deserved much better treatment than it got. Scott's best movies hail from a variety of genres, with the filmmaker being responsible for classic sci-fi franchises like Alien and Blade Runner, but also having directed the aforementioned Gladiator movies. His next film, The Dog Stars, arrives in theaters on August 28, taking place in a post-apocalyptic setting. However, some of Scott's most noteworthy work is grounded in history, specifically showcasing historical events, figures, and time periods in his works. This includes 2010's Robin Hood, which saw Russell Crowe take on the role of the legendary outlaw, and Black Hawk Down, a military war movie about two Black Hawk helicopters shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. For later work, he released Napoleon, a polarizing epic about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, both his rise to power in France and his relationship with his wife, Josephine. The prolific nature of Scott's history-focused movies makes them a core part of his filmography, held up by the fact that he has continued to make them well into the later stages of his career. But one of these movies had a notorious reputation when it came out in theaters, to the point where it was critically panned. It's a movie that, upon its home release, earned some modicum of redemption, but that deserved much better when it was first released in theaters. Ridley Scott's Kingdom Of Heaven Blends Gladiator With Game Of Thrones That movie is Kingdom of Heaven, a 2005 historical drama directed by Scott and written by William Monahan. The movie follows an ensemble cast led by Orlando Bloom as Balian of Ibelin, a crusader who defends the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, enacted by the attacking Sultan Saladin. In addition to Bloom, the core cast of Kingdom of Heaven includes Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Michael Sheen, Ghassan Massoud, and Ulrich Thomsen. While the movie came out only five years after Gladiator, the film presented a much different historical approach. The movie was defined not only by its major battle sequences and high-octane action, but also by the political intrigue it presented through its multifaceted, well-developed characters. The engaging conversations between characters come not only from a purely political angle, but a religious one as well, something that feels like an early rendition of Game of Thrones in presentation. It doesn't hold back, and is all the better for it. Kingdom of Heaven also stars multiple Game of Thrones actors, including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glenn, and Alexander Siddig. Kingdom Of Heaven Is Great — But Not In Its Theatrical Version Image via 20th Century Studios Kingdom of Heaven's multifaceted characters, intense battle scenes, and engaging Middle Ages politics make it one of Scott's strongest movies. However, it's also in a unique situation, because these praises can't be given to the theatrical cut. Kingdom of Heaven reviews were notoriously negative upon its release in theaters, with critics generally happy with the visual presentation, but unimpressed by a lackluster story and character development. This includes a critique of Bloom's leading role, which felt underdeveloped, and of surface-level politics. However, this was not the case with the movie's 189-minute extended director's cut. Released in 2006, the director's cut is the version of the movie Scott wanted to release in theaters, featuring 45 minutes of added scenes that Fox originally requested be cut from the movie. This newer, completed version of the movie was hailed as not only one of Scott's best movies, but one of the best director's cuts ever made. Critics say the added scenes make the movie feel complete, making Kingdom of Heaven's extended edition the definitive experience for anyone wanting to watch the film. Embracing the action-centric focus of Gladiator and with politics mirroring those of Game of Thrones, Kingdom of Heaven is a perfect, lengthy epic set during the Third Crusade. It's one of Scott's most unsung movies because of its bad theatrical release, but is more than worth watching thanks to a stellar director's cut that fixes every problem the original release held. Release Date May 6, 2005 Runtime 144 Minutes Director Ridley Scott