Ridley Scott Was Toying With Bringing Russell Crowe Back for ‘Gladiator’ Sequel
Actor Russell Crowe isn’t likely to appear in Ridley Scott’s upcoming Gladiator sequel. But there was a point where Scott considered bringing Crowe back despite how the actor’s character left off in the film.
How Ridley Scott planned Russell Crowe’s return
The details of Scott’s Gladiator sequel have been kept under wraps since it was announced. All that’s known about the feature is that it will star a powerful ensemble cast that includes the likes of Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and others.
But the Gladiator sequel has been in development for more than two decades. Scott and his team agonized over a worthy successor to the original, drafting several possible storylines. In a previous version of the sequel, Scott had Crowe returning and reprising his character Maximus.
“Nick Cave wrote the script, but I had the idea,” Scott said in an interview with ReelBlend. “I knew how to bring him back through a portal, back to the real world. I’m not going to tell you what it is, because somebody will steal it. . … I talked to Nick every other day for about a month as he was writing it. And so I said, ‘We can bring him back this way.’ And what I want to do is start the film in Styx, on the edge of the ocean, and you see him, this warrior, wandering in armor. Then, it’s Maximus wandering, looking for where he’s going to go next. That’s Scene One.”
That was as much as Scott was willing to reveal about the unmade sequel.
Russell Crowe feels a bit of jealousy about the ‘Gladiator’ sequel
Since the announcement, Crowe has fielded more than a few questions about the Gladiator sequel, even though he won’t be a part of it. He even quipped that he’s had to keep reminding others of his character’s fate to drive home the fact he won’t be returning. Still, the actor confided that he felt a bit of jealousy about Scott’s upcoming film.
“I mean, look, 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,” Crowe said in an interview with Collider. “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. Here it is, it’s 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV. And you don’t always get that kind of longevity with every film you do, so, it obviously holds a special place in my heart.”
Ridley Scott changed the ‘Gladiator’ ending while filming on set
It might’ve been easier for Crowe to come back for the sequel if Scott stuck to his original vision. It turned out that there was a possibility Maximus might’ve survived in the end. But while filming, Scott began to wonder if it was more appropriate for the character to die. Eventually, the director brought this possibility to Crowe, who agreed with the sentiment. This resulted in Maximus meeting his end after his battle with Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus.
“I remember Ridley coming up to me on set saying, ‘Look, the way this is shaping up, I don’t see how you live. This character is about one act of pure vengeance for his wife and child, and, once he’s accomplished that, what does he do?’ And my joke used to be, ‘Yeah, what does Maximus do? Does he end up running a f***ing pizzeria by the Colosseum?’ He has a singular purpose, which is to meet his wife in the afterlife and apologize for not being there for her. And that’s it,” Crowe remembered in an interview with Empire.
