Before Russell Crowe took on the mantle of Father Gabriel Amorth to uncover and expel sinister beings from the bodies of the living in The Pope’s Exorcist, the actor had stared in one of the great depictions of warriors from Ancient Rome, Gladiator (2000). Created by Ridley Scott, the film went on to become a brilliant success with critics while doing well financially, and many had expected a sequel to follow soon.
Those plans did not materialize until recently with the casting of leads for Gladiator 2. Crowe who had played the titular character of Maximus in the original has spoken in a recent interview with The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio One about his status within the sequel. The Australian actor revealed that the events in the sequel happened “long beyond Maximus’s passing” and he won’t be a part of the project. “It’s an extension of the narrative, but it is long beyond Maximus’s passing, so it doesn’t really involve me at all,” he said. Crowe continues to praise Paul Mescal, who has been cast as the lead in the story while also hinting at which direction the plot leans. “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,” he says. “You know, no doubt I’ll end up having hundreds of friends of mine working on it. I already know designers and leather workers making the armor and things like that.”
Crowe’s performance in the historically fictitious tale of Gladiator earned the actor an Oscar. Now looking back, he explains that he does not dwell too much on it saying, “I don’t want to dwell on it too much because it does take me back to a period of time when obviously I was significantly younger. And you know, the rose-colored glasses of that experience now are perfectly crystallized. I look back on it and I loved every minute of it, and that wasn’t actually the case at the time.” The Poker Face star then goes on to highlight what appealed to him most about the project adding, “I do like being on a period movie set. I don’t know why. Stepping into those sorts of costumes and those sorts of situations and stuff, it has great appeal to me.”
What is the Plot of Gladiator 2?
The plot of Gladiator 2 has not been explicitly revealed, however, given that Mescal will play an older version of young Lucius (Spencer Treat Clark) and given the character’s admiration of Maximus in the original film. We could see an emperor who is interested in getting into the fighting pits of the Colosseum and putting on a spectacle.
Gladiator 2 officially arrives in theaters on Friday, November 22nd, 2024.
