Russell Crowe Says He’s “Slightly Uncomfortable” With ‘Gladiator 2’ Being Made

Russell Crowe is sharing his thoughts on Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator sequel, admitting that he’s “slightly uncomfortable” that it’s being made.

During a recent interview with Kyle Meredith, the Oscar-winning actor said, “I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one — because, of course, I’m dead and I have no say in what gets done. But a couple of the things I’ve heard I’m like, ‘No, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character’. But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place, I’m six foot under. So we’ll see what that is like.”

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Crowe played Roman general Maximus in 2000’s Gladiator. The film, also directed by Scott, follows his character as he sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.

“I reflect back: the age I was when I made that film and all the things that came after it, the doors that particular movie opened for me,” the Les Misérables actor continued. “This is just me being purely honest: there’s definitely a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy. I remember when I had tendons.”

In the sequel, Paul Mescal takes on the lead role of adult Lucius, depicted in the original movie as the young nephew of Commodus, the Roman Emperor played by Joaquin Phoenix at the time. He told Esquire last year that the film is “definitely the biggest one I’ve done.”

“I feel really excited, but, like, it’s difficult to get away from the legacy of the film a bit,” Mescal explained. “I think it’s really well written and it pays homage to the first one, but it’s very much something that I think I can step into and make comfortably my own.”

When asked if he had spoken to Crowe regarding the original Gladiator, the Normal People star responded, “I don’t know what we would talk about. Like, I’d love to hear his stories from filming, but the character is, like, totally separate.”

Last year, Crowe said about Gladiator 2: “I don’t know anything about the plot.” After all, since his character Maximus died in Gladiator, for which the actor won the Oscar, “in that world, I’m dead, six feet under. And that’s that.”

Gladiator 2, which also stars Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen, is set to hit theaters on Nov. 22.

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