Gladiator franchise star Russell Crowe was at one point planned to return in a major way in the newly released sequel - but those plans ultimately fell through.
Crowe originally led Ridley Scott's first Gladiator movie, starring as the venerable Maximus, a Roman general who aims to get revenge on the Emperor after being forced into slavery.
Instead of Crowe, Gladiator 2 (which has earned fairly positive reviews) stars Paul Mescal as his character's son, Lucius, who (just like his father) fights as a gladiator to get revenge after his village is pillaged by a dastardly Roman general.
Why Is Russell Crowe Not In Gladiator 2?
The primary reason for Russell Crowe's absence from Gladiator 2 has to do with his character's fate in Gladiator 1.
At the end of that film, Crowe's Maximus, while proving victorious and exacting his revenge on the villainous Emperor Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix), succumbs to the wounds he sustained in battle and tragically dies.
At one point, shortly after Gladiator's release, a sequel starring Crowe, yet again, was initially planned.
This movie would have been penned by musician Nick Cave (of rock group Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) and would have followed a now-dead Maximus fighting his way through the depths of Hell.
Regarding that version of the film, director Ridley Scott remembers Crowe demanding, "I want to come back from the dead" (via People):
"Russell and I had a go at it around 18 years ago. I had Nick Cave writing the script, and I kept saying [to Russell], 'But you're dead.' And he said, 'I know I'm dead. And I want to come back from the dead.'"
This original sequel plan was ultimately abandoned, with the Lucius story taking its place.
In a conversation with Kyle Meredith in June 2024, the Gladiator actor commented on the sequel going ahead, saying he was "slightly uncomfortable" with the idea, but, seeing as his character is dead, "[he has] no say in what gets done:"
"I’m slightly uncomfortable, the fact they’re making another one, you know? Because, of course, I’m dead, and I have no say in what gets done. A couple of things that I’ve heard, I’m like, 'No, no, no. That’s not in the moral journey of that particular character.' But you know, I can’t say anything. That’s not my place. I’m six feet under. So we’ll see what that is like."
Despite not being in the film, Crowe did have the chance to visit the set of the Gladiator sequel, calling it "a time warp" to be back in quote/unquote ancient Rome (via Deadline):
"I looked across to Fort Ricasoli, and the Colosseum’s been built there again, just like it was in 1999. I tell you, man, it was like a time warp — for a couple of seconds there, I was like, 'What year is this? Where are we?' I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting that they would rebuild the Colosseum in the exact same place."
He also would share his praise of Paul Mescal in an appearance on The Ryan Tubridy Show, as he picks up where his big-screen hero left off:
"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."
Russell Crowe's Gladiator 2 Connections
Despite being the star of the first film, Russell Crowe is nowhere to be seen in Gladiator 2.
Crowe's Maximus is notably absent from Ridley Scott's legacy sequel, instead focusing on his character's son, Lucius (Paul Mescal), as he seeks revenge on the Roman Empire just like his father did all those years ago.
The big twist of the movie is that Lucius (for nearly the entire film) does not know he is Maximus' son. Ever since his village was attacked as a young boy, he had lived in slavery without any knowledge he comes from the legendary bloodline.
While Crowe himself does not appear in the movie (aside from some recycled flashback footage), his presence is still felt.
Lucius being the descendant of such a storied warrior (whether he knows it or not) weighs heavily on the new film's story, with him being constantly connected to Maximus without him knowing that the Gladiator hero was his dad.
Lucius even, at one point, is shown a monument of sorts to his father set up by the former slaves he helped free, and still is unaware they have any relation.
Who his father was is eventually revealed to him in the movie's third act, as he seeks to bring the Roman Empire to its knees, just as his father did.
Gladiator 2 is now playing in theaters.
