Russell Crowe jealous of Paul Mescal’s Gladiator experience

Are you not entertained, Maximus? Russell Crowe recently revealed that he is jealous that Paul Mescal will be starring in Gladiator 2…although not necessarily for the reasons you might think.

In a new interview, Russell Crowe explained that he’s slightly envious that Paul Mescal will be experiencing Gladiator with a fresh perspective, further saying he didn’t fully appreciate making the movie at the time. “It does take me back to a period of time when obviously I was significantly younger. And you know, the rose-colored glasses of that experience now are perfectly crystallized. I look back on it and I loved every minute of it, and that wasn’t actually the case at the time. I do like being on a period movie set. Stepping into those sorts of costumes and those sorts of situations and stuff, it has great appeal to me. There’s a slight edge of jealousy that people get to have that experience that I had once.” Hopefully Mescal can have a more enjoyable time on the set than Crowe, which very well could be since he won’t have Oliver Reed there.

Gladiator 2 (there has to be a better title coming, right? At least use Roman numerals!) will find Ridley Scott returning as director, delivering a variation of the project that has been of interest to him since as early as 2001. That same year, the original won five Academy Awards (with another seven nominations), including Best Picture, Best Actor and more. Currently slated for a November 22nd, 2024 release, Gladiator: Part Deux will also reportedly feature Barry Keoghan and potentially Denzel Washington, which would reteam the director and actor for the first time since 2007’s American Gangster.

As far as Russell Crowe’s involvement in Gladiator 2: Electric Boogaloo, well, there is none, as the movie takes place after his character’s death. “I’m sure at some point in time they’ll want to ask me about something, but they haven’t brought anything up in a while. It’s an extension of the narrative, but it is long beyond Maximus’ passing, so it doesn’t really involve me at all.”

Are you looking forward to Gladiator 2 even without Russell Crowe? Give us your take in the comments section below.