Russell Crowe is beloved for his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius in 2000's Oscar-winning epic Gladiator. But the man himself apparently has no love for 2024's Gladiator II which introduced Paul Mescal as Maximus' illegitimate son with Connie Nielsen's Lucilla, AKA the true heir to the throne of Ceasar, telling Australian outlet Triple J that it's an "unfortunate example" of when sequels get it wrong.
"I think the recent sequel that, you know, 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," Crowe says, later making it clear that he's referring to Gladiator II. "It wasn't the pomp. It wasn't the circumstance. It wasn't the action. It was the moral core."
