Russell Crowe recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming sequel to Ridley Scott’s "Gladiator," expressing some discomfort about its production.
In an interview, the Oscar-winning actor admitted, "I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one – because, of course, (my character is) dead and I have no say in what gets done. But a couple of the things I’ve heard, I’m like, ‘No, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character.’ But I can’t say anything; it’s not my place, I’m six foot under. So we’ll see what that is like.”
Crowe, who portrayed Roman general Maximus in the 2000 film, reflected on the significant impact the role had on his career. “I reflect back: The age I was when I made that film and all the things that came after it, the doors that particular movie opened for me,” he said. “This is just me being purely honest: There’s definitely a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy. I remember when I had tendons.”
In the sequel, Paul Mescal stars as the adult Lucius, who was depicted as a young boy in the original film and is the nephew of the emperor Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Mescal told Esquire last year: “I feel really excited, but, like, it’s difficult to get away from the legacy of the film a bit. I think it’s really well written and it pays homage to the first one, but it’s very much something that I think I can step into and make comfortably my own.”
When asked if he had spoken to Crowe about the original "Gladiator," Mescal responded, “I don’t know what we would talk about. Like, I’d love to hear his stories from filming, but the character is, like, totally separate.”
Last year, Crowe commented on "Gladiator 2," saying, “I don’t know anything about the plot.” Acknowledging that his character Maximus died in the original film, for which he won an Oscar, he added, “In that world, I’m dead, six feet under. And that’s that.”
"Gladiator 2," which also features Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen (reprising her role as Lucius’ mother), is scheduled to be released on Nov. 22.
