Russell Crowe has again commented on Gladiator 2, a film he is connected to but is not officially involved with since his character died at the end of the 2000 film. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the Oscar-winner joked that he ought to be paid for being a spokesperson for the film given how many questions he’s been asked about it.
“They should be f**king paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in,” he said, as reported by Variety. “It has nothing to do with me. In that world, I am dead. Six feet under.”
Crowe is referring to the fate of his character, Maximus, who died at the end of the movie. He’s dead and buried, and the next movie is not a prequel, so we won’t see Maximus again.
Crowe earned his first and only Academy Award for Gladiator, and he remarked that all the discussion about the sequel has made him feel “a certain tinge of jealously,” a feeling he discussed previously. That’s because it reminds him of all those years ago when he played Maximus and how the role helped make his career. “It reminds me of when I was younger and what it meant for me, in my life,” he said.
But asking Crowe about Gladiator 2 to get specifics isn’t a good idea because Crowe says he knows nothing about the cast or the plot. That being said, Crowe said he’s confident that director Ridley Scott will deliver something special.
“I know that if Ridley has decided to do a second part of the story, over 20 years later, he must have had very strong reasons. I can’t think of this movie being anything other than spectacular,” Crowe said.
Gladiator 2 stars Paul Mescal in the lead role, along with Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Connie Nielsen. Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk, Banshees of Inisherin) was supposed to star in the movie until he was dropped out and replaced by The White Lotus Season 1 actor Fred Hechinger.
David Scarpa is writing the script for the sequel. Gladiator 2 hits theaters in November 2024.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
