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We waited for a long time until director Ridley Scott has continued his popular 2000 best classic classic “Gladiator”, 2000. This sequel arrived in the form of “Gladiator II” at the end of 2024. Although the sequel does not approach Without backing his previous star, Oscar winner Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius. This is because Maximus died in the first … but that did not prevent the writers from bringing him back anyway.
In a recent interview with The directThe screenwriter Peter Craig revealed that at some point there was a scene that Crowe would have returned as a maximum. This would have taken place towards the end of the film and would have happened through a review with Paul Mescals Lucius, who is actually Maximus’ son (spoiler alarm). Here is what Craig had to say:
“There was an idea that the Romans could speak to their ancestors, and they have these underground catacombs in which the urns and ashes and bones of the people were buried under the city. There had been a scene in which Lucius found out that it was his father, down there and he found his grave there. And there was simply a short flashback with Russell with Russell.”
For what it is worth Only two actors of the first “gladiator” returned in the sequel: Connie Nielsen (Lucilla) and Derek Jacobi (Senator Gracchus). So it is not as if crowe is being missed again. Nevertheless, it is easy to see why Craig and Scott at least considered this option.
Gladiator II was probably better off without Russell Crowe
For the good or bad, Maximus threw a very large shade about the sequel, although crowe does not actually appear in the film. There were different versions of the sequel that had floated over the years Finally, Scott had the feeling that it was the right time to do “Gladiator II”. This without the people who made the original into such a big goal was a big job.
Several other writers ultimately created the story that we developed in the sequel together with Scott. The director was a big fan of how it turned out He has already announced plans for a potential “Gladiator 3”, with Paul Mescal returning. For his part, Craig has the feeling that you have made the right call to let this flashback scene out of the film:
“I think you probably made the right decision that you didn’t use. But I was there for a while with Ridley (Scott) … I gave you a large selection of things and you selected some things from it, and I think you have drained a lot from the right stuff.”
Whether the sequel was a satisfactory follow-up or not is largely a question of individual taste. A CAMEO appearance from Crowe would probably not have moved the needle too much, but it might have felt a bit forced. “Gladiator II” was criticized because of its lack of historical accuracyBut here, too, Scott does not make a precise historical epic. Are you not entertained, could he ask?
You can snap “Gladiator II” to 4K, Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.
