Why Isn't Russell Crowe in 'Gladiator II'? Director Recalls Talks to Bring Him Back & What Went Wrong

More than two decades after Russell Crowe won an Oscar for Gladiator, the franchise is continuing with a long-awaited sequel.

Fans across the globe likely went into theaters this weekend hoping that the actor would make a cameo in the new movie, which stars the likes of Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. However, Russell was not involved because his character died in the original movie.

Despite his character’s death, director Ridley Scott revealed that there were once talks to bring Russell back to life. He explained how they were going to make that happen and why the plan ultimately fell apart.

Keep reading to find out more…

Speaking to People, Ridley said that he and Russell touched base for a sequel “around 18 years ago.”

“I had Nick Cave writing the script and I kept saying [to Russell], ‘But you’re dead.’ And he said, ‘I know I’m dead. And I want to come back from the dead,’” he recalled.

To make that happen, Ridley proposed creating a “portal to bring him back from the dead.”

“The only way of doing it was to go to another battle and through a dying warrior, he comes back into the spirit of the warrior,” he said. “So that’s his portal.”

Why didn’t it work out? According to Ridley, it would have led to them casting someone else to play the character anyways.

“He said, ‘So that’s no f—ing good, is it?’” the director said, adding, “It didn’t really work.”

Find out why Paul didn’t reach out to Russell to talk about filming Gladiator II.

There has already been talk about filming a third Gladiator movie.

While Russell isn’t in Gladiator II, he will star in a new movie that is set in Ancient Rome.