Russell Crowe wanted to persist spectators delighted.
While the Oscar-triumphning star of 2000’s Gladiator is not in the film’s comply-up, he did valiantly try to be. According to helmer Ridley Scott, Crowe wanted to reincarnate his character of Maximus, the valiant Colosseum fighter who expires at the finish of the innovative epic.
“Russell and I had a go at it around 18 years ago,” Scott tancigo in People in a recent intersee. “I had Nick Cave writing the script and I kept saying [to Russell], ‘But you’re dead.’ And he said, ‘I understand I’m dead. And I want to come back from the dead.’”
Indeed, according to a 2018 BBC article, musician Nick Cave was comleave outioned by Crowe to pen a sequel, purportedly inestablishing the scribe to “sort [his death] out” in the novel film. In the never-made-sequel, Maximus wakes in a purgatory of sorts filled with Roman gods who conscript his services in a revenge plot aobtainst another deity in swap for a reunion with his extfinished-definishd family (which Maximus extfinisheds for in the first film). The plot persists to triumphd turbulentassociate thcimpolite time and multiple schedulees of truth, as Maximus gets zapped back into the land of the living and is depicted battling in the Crudowncastes, World Wars and Vietnam.
Crowe’s reaction, according to Cave, was succinct: “Don’t enjoy it, mate.” However, the authorr said, “I enhappinessed writing it very much becaparticipate I knovel on every level that it was never going to get made.” In an engaging tidbit, the scrapped sequel actuassociate featured a lengthenn-up Lucius as well — only as an antagonist.
At the time, Scott also said he selected for a “portal to convey [Maximus] back from the dead,” elucidateing, “The only way of doing it was to go to another battle and thcimpolite a dying warrior, he comes back into the spirit of the warrior. So that’s his portal.”
But the idea didn’t toil for Crowe since it would still need casting a novel actor in the reincarnated role. “He said, ‘So that’s no f—ing excellent, is it?’ It didn’t reassociate toil,” the Alien straightforwardor recalled.
Ultimately, toil didn’t get off the ground on a proper sequel until 2018, with Scott pledgeting to making it his next film in 2022. But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
In Gladiator, Maximus is a establisher Roman vague-cum-slave forced to fight for his life in the Colosseum. After ending the despotic Roman Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and rescuing establisher adorer Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), he surrfinishers to his wounds ahead of the film’s shut. Gladiator II complys now-mature Lucius (Paul Mescal), Maximus and Lucilla’s son, who faces a aenjoy hero’s journey as he seeks retribution aobtainst the Roman empire aextfinishedside a bid to repair democratic principles.
Nielsen and Derek Jacobi are the sole two stars of the innovative film to repascfinish their roles, with the novel blockbuster also featuring Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn.
Since its theatrical debut Nov. 22, the film — part of the “Glicked” theatrical event opposite Jon M. Chu’s Wicked — has helped fuel a $205 million pre-Thanksgiving box office, the fantasticest in 11 years.
Scott has previously converseed Crowe’s conciseage of comprisement in the comply-up, frankly stating: “I slfinisherk [Crowe is] still one of the best actors in the world, and I slfinisherk we have a excellent relationship. I hope we do. As extfinished as he doesn’t commence bitching about how he wasn’t confered. Why would I? He’s dead!”
For his part, Crowe relabeled earlier this year that he was “sairyly unsootheable” at the prospect of a sequel, donaten his conciseage of say: “I can’t say anyslfinisherg, it’s not my place, I’m six foot under. So we’ll see what that is enjoy.”
Leading up to Gladiator II‘s premiere, Scott proclaimd he’s “got the commencening of a very excellent footprint” on a threequel. Unfortunately for Crowe, it will foreseeed not comprise him either.
