Ridley Scott has spoken out about why he never consulted Russell Crowe about Gladiator II.
Crowe has repeatedly stated that he was never contacted about the film and that he’s “slightly uncomfortable” that a sequel is being made.
Now, Scott has explained why he didn’t consult Crowe over the sequel.
The director said: “I think [Russell 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!”
Scott previously contemplated bringing Crowe’s Maximus back from the dead for a sequel written by Nick Cave which featured Maximus breaking out of purgatory on a mission to kill Christ.
Scott said he and Cave did a “reasonable presentation for DreamWorks” on the script but “it never got further”.
Crowe has also been frustrated by questions about appearing in the film, at one point even calling on the press to stop asking him about the movie.
“They should be fucking paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in,” he said.
“It has nothing to do with me. In that world, I am dead. Six feet under. But I do admit to a certain tinge of jealousy, because it reminds me of when I was younger and what it meant for me, in my life.”
Crowe continued: “I don’t know anything about the cast, I don’t know anything about the plot. I am dead! But I know that if Ridley has decided to do a second part of the story, over 20 years later, he must have had very strong reasons. I can’t think of this movie being anything other than spectacular.”
The film centres on a grown-up Lucius, played by Paul Mescal, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s character Commodus in the first film.
“Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome,” the synopsis reads. “Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist.
“With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honour to return the glory of Rome to its people.”
Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington also star in the forthcoming sequel. Pascal recently opened up about filming the movie’s action sequences, admitting he would “rather be thrown from a building” than fight Mescal again.
Gladiator II is due for release on November 22 globally.
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