Will Russell Crowe Be Returning for ‘Gladiator 2’?

Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) from Gladiator isn’t a ghost from Sparta, but he haunts everyone in memory. We remember him, and so do the people of Rome. The trailer for Gladiator 2 even shows Crowe’s Maximus in flashbacks.

But is Russell Crowe returning for Gladiator 2? According to the casting and the plot of the second movie, it’s unlikely for us to see Russell Crowe. Gladiator 2 is set a couple of decades after the ending of the first movie. If you’re here, you already know how that ends. Maximus has long crossed the Elysian Fields to be with his wife and child. 

We will be seeing Crowe in flashbacks, since the legend of Maximus will inspire the story of this sequel’s main character.

Maximus walked so Lucius could run

Remember Lucius from the first Gladiator movie? Most of us expected that he’d be the heir to the throne after his uncle, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), was killed. But successions don’t always go as smoothly. A Roman general by the name of Marcus Acacius usurped the throne, and Lucius was sold off to slavery.

I think we’ve all seen this story before. We all cried over the ending, but Gladiator 2 might be different. Lucius has a tragic story, but he still has a throne to reclaim. Inspired by Maximus, who stood up against his uncle, Lucius will try his luck as a gladiator and get his revenge.