Russell Crowe wants to make something extremely clear: He is not in “Gladiator 2.”
Ridley Scott’s upcoming sequel, which picks up two decades after the events of the Oscar-winning classic, is set to star Paul Mescal as a rising member of the Roman ruling class. Crowe will not be reprising his iconic role as Maximus, who died at the end of the first film. But that hasn’t stopped people from asking him about the movie.
At a press conference at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival (via Variety), Crowe complained about how much time he spends answering questions about a movie with which he has no involvement.
“They should be fucking paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in,” Crowe 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.”
He 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.”
This isn’t the first time Crowe has publicly distanced himself from “Gladiator 2.” In another recent interview, he wished the cast and creative team good luck but explained that the film does not involve his character.
“I’m sure at some point in time they’ll want to ask me about something, but they haven’t brought anything up in a while,” Crowe said. “It’s an extension of the narrative, but it is long beyond Maximus’ passing, so it doesn’t really involve me at all. I hear that young fella Paul is a good dude and I wish him the best of luck with it. I think where they’re picking the story up from, a young Lucius, stepping into the role of emperor. I think that’s a very smart idea within the world of the film that we created.”
