‘It Was the Moral Core’ – Russell Crowe Takes Aim at Gladiator 2 and the Changes it Made to Maximus as a Character

Russell Crowe is ready to talk about Gladiator 2, and he’s not exactly happy with how Ridley Scott’s sequel ties in with the original.

Crowe, who won an Oscar for his lead role as Maximus in the 2000 Best Picture winner, spoke about his disappointment in its long-awaited follow-up during an interview with Australian radio station Triple J. He begins airing his grievances by referring to the film as a “sequel that we don’t have to name out loud” but quickly makes his target clear.

“It wasn’t the pomp. It wasn’t the circumstance. It wasn’t the action. It was the moral core,” Crowe explains. “And the thing is there was a daily fight on that set. It 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, it’s like, you’re taking away his power.”

The area the actor specifically takes issue with is the existence of Gladiator 2’s main character, Lucius (Paul Mescal). It is eventually revealed that Lucius is the secret son of Maximus and the child of an affair Crowe’s character had with Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla. Considering much of Maximus’ journey kicks off as a result of the murder of his wife and child, the actor wasn’t exactly pleased with the decision to retroactively and significantly alter his past.

“But what are you talking about?” Crowe says of Gladiator 2. “So you’re saying at the same time he had this relationship with his wife he was f**king this other girl? What are you talking about? It’s crazy. The women in Europe, when that movie started coming out, I would be at, you know, restaurants, and they’d come talk to me and go, ‘What’s going on?’ It’s like, ‘Hey, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!’”

Crowe goes as far as to call Gladiator 2 a “really unfortunate example of even the people in that engine room not actually understanding what made the first one special.” It’s an update that follows comments he made in the lead-up to Scott’s 2024 revival, when the star said “they should be f**king paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in.”

We gave Gladiator 2 an 8/10 in our review upon its release late last year. At the time, we said the film “finds strength and honor in a familiar story, with enough fresh perspective to feel relevant and an unmissable Denzel Washington supporting turn which practically screams ‘are you not entertained!?’” Scott said Gladiator 3 is “in the process right now” in August, though it’s unclear if Crowe or Mescal will be brought back in any capacity.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).