“Does he end up running a f***ing pizzeria by the Colosseum?”: Russell Crowe Himself Shot Down Any Chances of Maximus Returning in Gladiator 2

The legacy of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was such that a young Russell Crowe was overnight taught to regard himself as a celebrity of great public standing. He was no longer a wet-behind-the-ears Aussie, out trying his luck in Hollywood. The momentous shift in history that defined the launch of the film immediately cleaved the industry into two eras: pre and post-Gladiator.

Ridley Scott, on the other hand, was recognized as a kingmaker. The ensemble cast of that film, including Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed were immortalized in the chapters of Hollywood history. 24 years later, Scott is here to fulfill another prophecy with Gladiator II.

Russell Crowe Takes a Stand Against His Return

A quarter century after Russell Crowe‘s life took a hard left from the path of an aspiring actor and was instead turned into an overnight phenomenon, Gladiator II brings back the Roman era of the 2nd century as viewed through director Ridley Scott‘s masterful lens.

After the tragic ending of the first film that decidedly witnessed Maximus meeting his wife and son in the afterlife, talks about a Gladiator sequel without Crowe as the lead always evoked a sour taste in the collective mouth of the fans. It was understandable for Scott to write a resurrection arc into the storyline that sees Maximus finding his way back through a portal by the Styx.

However, Russell Crowe shot himself in the foot, perhaps inadvertently so, to protect the established arc of his character (unlike a certain Marvel actor and his 2017 swan song), and refused to give in to the temptations of an open-ended final scene. In an Empire magazine interview, Crowe admitted:

I remember Ridley coming up to me on set saying, ‘Look, the way this is shaping up, I don’t see how you live. This character is about one act of pure vengeance for his wife and child, and, once he’s accomplished that, what does he do?’

And my joke used to be, ‘Yeah, what does Maximus do? Does he end up running a f***ing pizzeria by the Colosseum?’ He has a singular purpose, which is to meet his wife in the afterlife and apologize for not being there for her. And that’s it.

While Scott respected that and Crowe did get his rightful ending as Maximus, it also significantly diminished his chances of returning in a sequel (although not for lack of trying). Now, Paul Mescal‘s Lucius carries his legacy forward after witnessing Maximus’s brutal murder at the hands of his uncle, Emperor Commodus.

The Resounding Legacy of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator

“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”

When Russell Crowe’s gladiator, captured and thrown into the Colosseum, spoke those legendary words, it dawned on the audience that the two-and-a-half-hour drama unfolding in front of them would be remembered through time and history.

Ridley Scott’s vision that filtered through every color-graded undertone of the film defined an emotional epic that looked as if it was ripped straight from the annals of history and presented onto the screen. In the midst of it all, Russell Crowe stood alone, shouldering the weight of the drama with a 25-year-old Joaquin Phoenix.

Now, a new generation rises in the aftermath of Maximus’s vengeance with Paul Mescal’s Lucius, the kind-hearted nephew of the villainous Commodus. Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Joseph Quinn join the ranks of the Ridley Scott sequel while Connie Nielsen returns in her role as Queen Lucilla.

Gladiator II premieres worldwide on November 22, 2024.