Russell Crowe Reveals Maximus' Jesus-Like Return in The GLADIATOR Sequel
When news got out that there was a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator being developed, a lot of people wondered why? and how? The first film was great and there was no need for a sequel, on top of that, Russell Crowe’s character died at the end, and the early concept for the sequel would have seen him return.
At one point, Nick Cave was attached to write a Gladiator 2, which would have seen Maximus travel through the afterlife before being resurrected through a portal in the body of a dying warrior. The project is still in active development with producer Doug Wick, but the new story is going in a different direction that won’t involve Crowe’s resurrection. During a recent interview with ScreenRant, Crowe expanded on the original idea and how Maximus would have come back, saying:
"I haven't talked to Doug in a long, long time. Last time I talked to Doug, he said he had this great idea where Maximus gets carried from the stadium and they pull back this big rock and he gets put into this cave and then the rock closes over and he's anointed with oils. And then the rock opens up and he comes out. And I said, 'Doug, I don't think we have the rights to that story.' But that was a long, long time ago and I don't think he appreciated my sense of humor at the time."
As you can see, Maximus’ return sounds a lot like the resurrection of Jesus. Judging by Wick’s response to Crowe’s joke, Wick didn’t seem to like having the similarities pointed out to him.
As for the sequel that’s currently in development, Ridley Scott would love to do it. According to Wick, “It's really all about getting something on paper. Everyone [involved with the original] loves the movie too much to ever consider cheaply exploiting it and making something that's a shadow of it. It's just really a clear creative problem, working on a script, and if we can ever get it to a place ... Ridley's working on it, it's really just a question of whether we can get it to a place where it feels worthy to make it. It's a real challenge."
Producer Walter F. Parkes previously said that the story for the sequel would pick up “30 years later… 25 years later.” Three decades after the death of Maximus. It’s been said that it will follow the continuing story of Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen)- “The youth was the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the weaselly son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius who murdered his father seized the throne and wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus, who though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great beyond to reunite with his slain wife and son. Maximus saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family, and left a strong impression on the young Lucius.”
It’ll be interesting to see if this sequel actually ends up getting made. At least the sequel won’t be cheapened by bringing Maximus back to life.