While speaking with The Associated Press about Inside Llewyn Davis, Joel and Ethan Coen revealed they're currently writing their next project: a “sandal drama” set in ancient Rome. As Indiewire points out, the Coen brothers also recently mentioned they were working on a movie about an opera singer—and they often have projects in development concurrently—so there’s no guarantee when or even if this Roman epic will come to fruition. But in the somewhat-facetious interview, Ethan said of the film, “We’re interested in the big questions. And we don’t fuck around with subtext. This one especially.” They also promised to answer said questions: “It’s not like our piddly A Serious Man,” Ethan said, as Joel added, “That was a cop-out. We just totally chickened out on that one.”
Anyway, given the sheer number of genres the duo have tackled, a gladiator movie seems as likely as anything else. In related news, Russell Crowe has donned his Gladiator costume and is currently sitting patiently by his phone.