Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” (2000); Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II” (2024). Photo:
DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
Russell Crowe previously said he was “slightly jealous” and “uncomfortable” about the sequel
Much has been said about Russell Crowe’s absence from the new Gladiator sequel.
The actor, now 60, won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2001 for his performance in the first film as Maximus, a former Roman general who is forced to fight for his live in the Colosseum. (Gladiator won five of its 12 total nominations that year, including Best Picture.)
Why isn’t Crowe back for the new installment? For one — spoiler alert — Maximus died at the end of the first film. Gladiator II takes place 16 years after his death, and his legacy looms large in Rome.
Paul Mescal stars this time as Lucius, the son of Maximus who also becomes enslaved into becoming a gladiator. (Lucius, as a child in the first film, was played by Spencer Treat Clark, now 37.)
Crowe previously expressed feeling FOMO after not being included in the sequel, which is again directed by Ridley Scott. In 2023, he told Collider he was “slightly jealous” because, looking back, “I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life.” Crowe added that Gladiator still “holds a special place in my heart.”
Then, in June 2024, Crowe said on a podcast that it was “slightly uncomfortable” for him since his character is “dead, and I have no say in what gets done” in future storylines: “Can’t say anything. It’s not my place. I’m six foot under,” he said at the time.
Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” (2000).
DreamWorks/courtesy Everett Collection
Two O.G. cast members do reprise their roles: Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi. New cast members range from Denzel Washington to Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn.
Mescal, 28, has been open about not feeling compelled to reach out to Crowe before leading the new Gladiator movie. “Ultimately, I have to stand behind this entirely by myself. … You can’t rely on anyone besides the script and the director and yourself,” he told Extra. Director Scott, 86, then said, “I’ll add to that: Why would Roger Moore call up Sean Connery [for a James Bond movie]? … What’s he gonna do that for?”
Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II” (2024).
Cuba Scott/Paramount Pictures
Said Mescal, “What I would love to discuss with Russell is, like … trade war stories. … We’ve gone through similar experiences with it.”
Scott, who has teased a possible third movie could happen, also told Extra there was a scrapped iteration of a sequel script that saw Maximus come back from the afterlife: “The only way of bringing him back from the dead was bringing him back through a dying warrior. … I said, ‘The only problem, Russell, is you look like the dying warrior, so it can’t be you.’ So it never really worked.”
Eventually, the team landed on the story’s continuation. Scott told Empire, “The plot, frankly, was right under our noses. I think it was so close under our noses that we thought it was too simple. I think [Crowe] is still one of the best actors in the world, and I think we have a good relationship. I hope we do. As long as he doesn’t start bitching about how he wasn’t consulted. Why would I? He’s dead!”
Crowe does appear onscreen in the new one via throwback clips from the first movie, plus his character is frequently name-checked. Additionally, in the final moments of the movie, a close-up shot shows a glimpse of a hand that somewhat resembles Maximus’ in the afterlife, though a face is never shown.
Gladiator II is in theaters now. Gladiator is currently streaming on Paramount+.
