Holst: "Am I not merciful!?!" No.

While I couldn't verify the report with any online news source, word around the film music msg boards and discussion lists is that Hans Zimmer is set to do battle with the Holst Foundation and publishers J Curwen & Sons. According to one post, which cites the London paper the Daily Mail (and please allow me to copy this with a tip of the hat to 'NH'):

"Mr Zimmer admits in the CD sleeve notes that people find the pieces similar, but says he used 'the same language, the same vocabulary, if not the same syntax'. But he will resist the legal claim. His lawyer said, 'Mr Zimmer's work on Gladiator is world-renowned and is not in any sense a copy of Mars. Just listening to the two works is enough to tell any listener the claim has no merit.'"

I'm sure this has absolutely nothing to do with the Gladiator soundtrack being a huge seller and Hans Zimmer being richer than God...