Russell Crowe has starred in the upcoming film Gladiator 2, the long-awaited sequel to the box office hit that made him a global superstar.
The 60-year-old won an Academy Award for his role in the original film Gladiator, which first hit screens in 2000 and grossed nearly $500 million at the box office.
The famously outspoken New Zealand-born fan favorite admits he feels “uncomfortable” with the new film, which he says he “had no say in.”
He made the comments during an interview at Kyle Meredith with…podcast on Monday.
As fans will remember, in the film Crowe played the Roman general Maximus, who is enslaved and becomes a famous gladiator before tragically dying.
Russell Crowe has starred in the upcoming film Gladiator 2, the long-awaited sequel to the box office hit that made him a global superstar. In the photo
The 60-year-old won an Academy Award for his role in the original film Gladiator, which first hit screens in 2000 and grossed nearly $500 million at the box office. Pictured: Crowe as Maximus in a scene from the original film.
“I feel a little uncomfortable with the fact that they’re making another one, because of course I’m ‘dead’ and I don’t have a say in what gets made,” Russell joked during the interview.
He also hinted that he did not fully support some aspects of the new film’s story, which have been leaked, even though it is directed by Ridley Scott, 86, who made the original Gladiator.
“But a couple of things I’ve heard are like, ‘No, no, no, that’s not in that particular character’s moral journey,'” the Beautiful Mind actor said.
“But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place, I’m ‘six feet under’.” “Then we’ll see what that’s like.”
Last month he confirmed on British radio that he was not working on the sequel starring Irish actor Paul Mescal, 28.
“I’m sure at some point they’ll want to ask me about something, but they haven’t mentioned anything for a while,” Crowe said during an appearance on Virgin Radio UK’s Ryan Turbridy Show.
The sequel will star Irish actor Paul Mescal, 28, who plays the role of Lucius Verus. In the original film, the character was seen as a young man who idolized Crowe’s gladiator.
“It’s an extension of the narrative, but it goes way beyond Maximus’s passing, so it doesn’t really involve me at all,” he explained.
Crowe added that he heard: “That young Paul is a good guy and I wish him the best of luck.”
‘I think where they’re taking the story from, a young Lucius, taking on the role of emperor. “I think it’s a very smart idea within the world of the film that we created,” Crowe said.
In the new film, Mescal takes on the role of Lucius Verus (Spencer Treat Clark), the adult nephew of the late Roman Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who idolized the late general-turned-slave-turned-gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe). .
Derek Jacobi returns as Senator Gracchus and Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla, Lucius’ mother, who gives him the ring of Maximus in the film set in 200 BC
Denzel Washington is also in the cast of the new film.
Ridley Scott’s original Gladiator grossed $465.4 million at the global box office and won five Academy Awards, including best picture.
Gladiator 2 is scheduled for release in Australia on November 22, 2024.