Russell Crowe Denies Involvement in Gladiator 2
Gladiator star Russell Crowe has made it clear that he has no knowledge or participation in the upcoming sequel, Gladiator 2. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Crowe expressed frustration that people continue to ask him about the film despite his absence from it.
“They should be f**king paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in,” Crowe candidly stated. “It has nothing to do with me. In that world, I am dead. Six feet under.”
In the original Gladiator, Crowe’s character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, meets a definitive end. After a battle to the death in the Colosseum with Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, Maximus succumbs to his wounds. While Crowe acknowledges that this conclusion is fitting for the tragic character, he admits to feeling a tinge of jealousy towards those involved in the sequel.
“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 revealed. However, he emphasized that he has no information about the cast or the plot of Gladiator 2.
“I don’t know anything about the cast, I don’t know anything about the plot,” he insisted. “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.”
Gladiator 2 is reportedly set to star Paul Mescal, and while Barry Keoghan was initially cast as real-life Emperor Geta, scheduling conflicts have led to Fred Hechinger being considered as a replacement.
The highly anticipated sequel is scheduled to hit theaters on November 22, 2024.
IGN’s review of the original Gladiator praised the film, giving it a rating of 7/10. The review highlighted the charismatic portrayal of Proximo by Oliver Reed and Richard Harris’s compelling performance as Marcus Aurelius. Russell Crowe’s presence on-screen was also praised for his combination of weight, intensity, and quiet dignity.
For more updates on Gladiator 2, fans can check out the negotiations regarding the cast and the stunt incident during filming that resulted in crew injuries.
Ryan Leston, an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN, contributed to this article. You can follow him on Twitter for more updates.
Note: The content of this article is fictitious and created by OpenAI’s GPT-3 model.