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Russell Crowe Returns To Gladiator Location 22 Years Later With Family
Russell Crowe returns to a key location in Gladiator 22 years later accompanied by his family. Released in 2000, Gladiator is directed by Ridley Scott and tells the story of a former Roman general who sets out for revenge after a corrupt emperor murders his family. The film was a hit with both audiences and critics and was also successful at the box office, earning over $460 million during its initial theatrical run.
Although Gladiator takes place in locations across the ancient Roman Empire, much of the story is contained to the Colosseum in Rome. After Maximus (Crowe) becomes a slave and survives his first match in a smaller gladiator ring, he accompanies his slaver to Rome. There, he is once more forced to fight, but this time in the massive Colosseum for crowds of thousands. Although several of his gladiator friends perish during the brawls, Maximus survives and is eventually able to face off against the corrupt emperor, Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus. Gladiator ultimately ends with Maximus dying in the sands of the Colosseum, with the final scene of the film suggesting he is finally reunited with his family in the afterlife.
Twenty-two years after the release of Gladiator, Crowe has now returned to the Colosseum in Rome with his family in tow, as seen in a new picture posted to his Twitter account. The post features an image of Crowe with his family in front of the ancient Roman structure with the caption joking that he's "taking the kids to see [his] old office." The post has clearly resonated with fans of Gladiator, with the image sitting 524,000 likes as of this writing. Check out Crowe's post below:
Although it's been over two decades since Gladiator was released, love for the film remains strong. Crowe has since gone on to appear in a number of acclaimed and successful films, most recently gracing movie theater screen as Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder. Although Crowe's character died at the end of the first film, a sequel to Gladiator is reportedly in the works with Scott returning to direct. It's unknown, however, what time period the film will take place in and whether it will see the return of the iconic Colosseum.
For many fans around the world, Gladiator will forever be the film that Crowe is most associated with. The actor has had a long and storied career, but Gladiator remains one of the only truly great modern films that has attempted to depict ancient Rome and the gladiator lifestyle. It's unknown if Crowe will return in any capacity for the Gladiator sequel but the actor is clearly enjoying revisiting the iconic filming location and sharing the space with his family.
