Russell Crowe Says, Yes, Movie Sequels Are Lazy, But He Approves of ‘Gladiator II’

A whopping 137 movies sequels are currently greenlit in Hollywood. One of them is Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ sequel.

One star of ‘Gladiator’ who will not be part of the sequel, for obvious reasons, is Russell Crowe and, although he agrees that sequels are lazy, he seems to be on-board Scott’s continuation:

Its such a rich and interesting world. It’s a great idea that Ridley has because it’s not about Maximus and. Commodus. He’s been thinking about it for a long time, he has a very sure and clear idea about how he would tell the story. It’s not a remake. It’s a different story altogether.

Scott’s sequel is currently filming in Morocco.

I have no idea if Scott’s continuation will be good. On paper, at least, it sounds like a preposterous idea, but the cast assembled gives me hope. Also, will they stick with the title? “Gladiator 2” just doesn’t sound right. I’m sticking with my advice it should be named GLADIATORS! (might as well keep the exclamation mark in there as well).

Set to star in the sequel are Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Djimon Hounsou, Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn.

The sequel is supposed to be set 25 years after the original. Writer David Scarpa will pen the screenplay.

The story will follow Mescal’s Lucius (son of Lucilla and the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's villainous Commodus). If you remember, Maximus saved Lucius from his uncle in the 2000 film. Connie Nielsen, who played Lucilla, is part of the sequel’s cast. So is Djimon Hounsou who is set to return as the once-enslaved Juba.

Paramount has dated the ‘Gladiator’ sequel for Nov. 22, 2024. That’s Thanksgiving weekend, so they have high commercial prospects for this one.