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Russell Crowe Gives Doubtful Update On Gladiator 2 Return
Gladiator 2 has received a disappointing update from original star Russell Crowe. The film is a decades-later sequel to the 2000 Best Picture winner Gladiator, which followed Crowe's character Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general who is stripped of his rank and forced to fight in the gladiator arena in ancient Rome. The sequel, which will see original director Ridley Scott returning, recently cast Normal People star Paul Mescal in the role of a grown-up Lucius Verus, the young son of Connie Nielsen's original character Lucilla, who was played by Spencer Treat Clark in 2000.
Crowe appeared on a recent episode of the Fitzy and Wippa podcast to discuss the upcoming Gladiator 2. Although he reveals that he and Scott have discussed the film over dinner so he knows "roughly how he's shaping the story," and that it will take place long after Maximus died, implying that he won't be returning. He also clarifies the timeline of the sequel, which will take place around 30 years after the original film. Read his full quote below:
Quote:
Yeah we've had dinner and talked about it and all that stuff. So I know roughly how he's shaping the story. But yeah, if you remember, there was a young kid who wanted to beat the Gladiator, which leads to the 'My name is' speech. So that young kid has grown up, and he's now the Emperor. I don't know what else happens at that point, so that's the idea. So it's not a remake. And it's not a direct sequel. It's not like the day after, you know, 30 years later or something.
Russell Crowe Doesn't Really Do Sequels
Although this isn't an explicit confirmation that Crowe won't return for Gladiator 2, it's not exactly an encouraging remark. However, it doesn't come as surprise considering Crowe's history. The actor has almost never appeared in a sequel to one of his films, though he has starred in a sequel to another film, most recently playing Zeus in the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe outing Thor: Love and Thunder. The closest he's gotten to a sequel is providing the voice of Man of Steel's Jor-El for Zack Snyder's Justice League, though he didn't work at all on the original theatrical cut.
Like many actors with multiple Oscar nominations under their belt (he was also nominated for 1999's The Insider and 2001's A Beautiful Mind), Crowe has made a name for himself in projects that don't easily lend themselves to sequels or franchises. This includes roles in the splashy Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in 2003, the Western 3:10 to Yuma in 2005, and the decorated musical adaptation Les Misérables in 2012. He has taken on larger franchise work in recent years, though his most promising role - as Dr. Jekyll in 2017's The Mummy - saw his future spinoffs fail to materialize as Universal's promised Dark Universe crashed and burned.
Every Upcoming Russell Crowe Project
Although there is always a chance that Crowe could return in a future MCU film or even a brief flashback in Gladiator 2, his upcoming projects have largely strayed away from the sequel realm as well. He will be holding a role in the Sony Spider-Man Universe project Kraven the Hunter, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but beyond that franchise film, he'll be appearing in original projects. This includes the 2023 titles The Pope's Exorcist and Land of Bad, as well as the upcoming biopic Rothko.
