Russell Crowe reveals why European women questioned him over Gladiator II

Russell Crowe has shared his views on Gladiator II, and it's not great. The actor, who played a Roman general, Maximus Decimus Meridius, in the mega-hit Gladiator, has shared that he was not much impressed with the sequel to Ridley Scott's film.

Released in 2024, Gladiator II came after two whole decades, and despite the efforts, the movie failed to live up to the expectations of the audience. More than a year after the release, Crowe has opened up about the movie and shared what, according to him, the makers missed in the sequel.

Russell Crowe says Gladiator II misses the element that made the first one special.

Crowe, whose character died in the first part of the film and had not filmed a single scene for Scott's sequel, talked about the epic during a conversation on Australian radio station Triple J.

“The recent sequel that we don’t have to name out loud is a really good example of, even the people in that engine room not actually understanding what made that first one special,” Crowe said.

“It wasn’t the pomp. It wasn’t the circumstance. It wasn’t the action. It was the moral core,” the Oscar-winning actor said.

Speaking about the issue that he had with the sequel is that of how his character,

Maximus, had an illegitimate son with Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), and that too when his character was focused on avenging the death of his first wife, Giannina Facio.

“So, you’re saying, at the same time he had this relationship with his wife, he was fucking this other girl? What are you talking about? It’s crazy,” he said.

The actor shared that he was questioned by European women, who were upset with the change of story in the sequel and Maximus's illegitimate son.

“The women in Europe, when that movie started coming out, I would be at a restaurant, and they’d come talk to me [and complain],” Crowe recalled before adding. “It’s like, ‘Hey, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do it.'”

More about Gladiator II

Directed by Scott, the movie is set two decades after the first film's events, and the death of Maximus (Played by Crowe).

The official synopsis for the movie reads, "Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people."

Apart from Paul Mescal, the movie stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.