In 2000, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe gave us a modern resurrection of the swords and sandals genre studio epic with “Gladiator,” as the latter would walk away with a Best Actor Oscar statue in 2001 and the actor is sharing his issues with the recent sequel, “Gladiator 2,” which is based on the major plot angle of the film that Paul Mescal‘s Lucius, was actually the bastard son of Crowe’s Maximus (spoiled in the promotional material ahead of release in 2024). Something neither hinted at nor established in that original movie, and it has sort of struck a nerve with Crowe, as it seems to have retconned the character’s “moral core,” something he believes was lacking in the sequel.
“I think the recent sequel that, you know, we don’t have to name out loud [obviously referring to ‘Gladiator 2’], is a really unfortunate example of even the people in that engine room not actually understanding what made the first one special,” Crowe said in a recent interview with the Aussie outlet Triple J. “It wasn’t the pomp. It wasn’t the circumstance. It wasn’t the action. It was the moral core.”
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While Crowe reminded us how the first movie established his commitment to revenge for his murdered wife and young son, surviving the gladiator ring to win his freedom to enact that plan of revenge, he couldn’t grasp the loyal Maximus having an affair with Connie Nielsen‘s Lucilla (daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius) when it was established his morality was the reasoning for avenging his wife and son. Alluding to the convenience writing for the sequel, potentially running Maximus’ “moral core” that made the original story work.
Even with the first movie, Crowe had to talk them out of making Maximus participate in sex scenes. “The thing is, there was a daily fight on that set. It was a daily fight to keep that moral core of the character,” Crowe recalled, making the first one with Scott. “The amount of times they suggested sex scenes and stuff like that for Maximus, it’s like you’re taking away his power. So you’re saying at the same time he had this relationship with his wife, he was f***ing this other girl? What are you talking about? It’s crazy.”
In fairness to Scott, “Gladiator 2” did find an audience last year, earning a decent $462.1 million at the global box office, and did okay with critics as well. The busy director had been teasing the potential of a “Gladiator 3” as they’ve already started “writing ideas” for it.
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