Russell Crowe had made Maximus iconic in the original film after he starred in Gladiator, released in 2000. 25 years later, the film returned for a sequel with Paul Mescal playing the lead, Lucius who is the illegitimate child of Maximus.
Gladiator 2, released in November last year, has been criticised by the original movie star, Russell who feels that the pulse of the characters were not duly understood.
Gladiator 2 could not live up to the promises and expectations as a critically acclaimed film it had set despite its box office success. In a recent radio interview, Russell Crowe, who had won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the prequel, said that the 2024 film lacked everything that made Gladiator special.
"I think the recent sequel, that we don’t have to name out loud, is a really unfortunate example of even the people in that engine room not actually understanding what made the first one special", said the actor.
What made the first film stand out was the "moral core", which Russell thinks was missing in the sequel. "It wasn’t the pomp, it wasn’t the circumstance, it wasn’t the action. It was the moral core", he said.
The Academy Award winning actor continued, "There was a daily fight on that set, there was a daily fight to keep that moral core of the character. The amount of times they suggested sex scenes and stuff like that for Maximus… you’re taking away his power".
Russell Crowe said that he was not willing to involve Maximus into unnecessary intimate scenes for that would have affected the strength of his character.
Both Gladiator and Gladiator 2 have been directed by English filmmaker, Ridley Scott who revealed in August that a third film in the series is confirmed and the filmmaking process is underway. Actor Paul Mescal also expressed his desire to return to the series but said he had no idea when the film production will begin.
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