When Russell Crowe thinks of his groundbreaking role in Gladiator (2000), he sees it as what made his career. That’s why the Australian actor can only be “slightly jealous” upon knowing that there’s an upcoming sequel (set for 2024) in which he’s not involved in any way.
Crowe, who played Maximus in the original movie, spoke to Collider about his feelings regarding the future movie directed by Ridley Scott, and a cast featuring names like Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan.
How does Russell Crowe feel about being left out of Gladiator 2?
“The only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know?”, Crowe told the publication. “Because I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life. It’s something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living.”
Though Russell Crowe received Academy Award nominations for his roles in The Insider (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2002), he won a golden statuette for his role as Maximus. But, for Crowe, it’s the evergreen nature of the movie that makes it so special: “The legs on that film are incredible. Here it is, it’s 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV.”
Gladiator 2 will take place 20 years after the original movie
Gladiator 2 will reflect the natural passage of time, in that it is based in a time two decades after the original story.
On RTÉ Radio One’s The Ryan Tubridy Show, Crowe revealed that Ridley Scott and the sequel team approached him some time ago, but not “for a while”. He also gave some insight into what the story of the sequel will consist of: “I hear that young fella Paul (Mescal) is a good dude and I wish him the best of luck with it. I think where they’re picking the story up from, a young Lucius, stepping into the role of emperor. I think that’s a very smart idea within the world of the film that we created.”