Russell Crowe Says He's "Slightly Uncomfortable" With GLADIATOR Sequel

Russell Crowe is best known for his many award-worthy performances, particularly his Academy Award-winning role in the 2000 film Gladiator.

He won’t be returning for the film’s sequel, Gladiator 2, later this year though, as his character, the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, died in the first film. Crowe doesn’t seem particularly thrilled that the film is even getting a sequel though. He explained on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast:

“I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one — because, of course, I’m 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.”

He continued:

“It does, in a funny way — 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. This is just me being purely honest: there’s definitely a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy.” He then quipped, “I remember when I had tendons.”

This is not the first time that Crowe has weighed in on the upcoming film. In an interview in 2023, he said he was “slightly jealous” he was not part of the sequel, telling Collider:

“The only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know? 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, and, you know, I’ve been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible.”

Crowe said the film “holds a special place in my heart” as it has had “longevity,” something that not every film has.

The Gladiator sequel is set years after the original film and has Paul Mescal taking over the role of Lucius that Spencer Treat Clark portrayed in the 2000 movie.

In the follow-up, Mescal plays the role of Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and the nephew of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). The cast also includes Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen back as Lucilla, Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn as Emperor Caracalla, and Fred Hechinger will play Emperor Geta.

The movie hits theaters on November 22nd.

via: Deadline