Russell Crowe admits to being “slightly jealous” he’s not in the ‘Gladiator’ sequel

As director Ridley Scott prepares his sequel to his Oscar-winning film Gladiator, the original’s star seems to admit he wishes he could re-enter the arena.

In a chat with Collider, The Pope’s Exorcist star Russell Crowe, who won an Academy Award for playing Roman Army General-turned gladiatorial champion Maximus Decimis Meridias in the original film, was asked what he thought of the sequel project.

“I mean, look, the only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know?” he admitted. “Because I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life. It’s something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living, and, you know, I’ve been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible.”

Crowe continued, “Here it is, it’s 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV. And you don’t always get that kind of longevity with every film you do, so, it obviously holds a special place in my heart.”

Recent Oscar nominee Paul Mescal is Ridley’s star this time around, reportedly playing a now-grown Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen‘s Lucilla and the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix‘s murderous Emperor Commodus in the original film. In Gladiator, the character was just a boy, played by Unbreakable and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. veteran Spencer Treat Clark.

The Banshees of Inisherin‘s Barry Keoghan is apparently also circling a role in the Gladiator sequel, which is set for a November 22, 2024, release.

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