Paul Mescal didn’t contact Russell Crowe to ask about ‘Gladiator’: “I wouldn’t know what to say”

Paul Mescal has said that he did not get in touch with Russell Crowe for advice during filming for Gladiator II.

The sequel hits cinemas on November 15 in the UK and a week later in the US, and it follows the story of Mescal’s Lucius, the former heir to the Roman Empire who is forced into slavery after the invasion of Pedro Pascal’s General Marcus Acacius.

Set 25 to 30 years after the events of the 2000 film, Lucius resolves to become a gladiator, and takes inspiration from the legend of Maximus Decimus Meridius, played in an Oscar-winning performance by Crowe in the original.

In a recent trailer, Lucius is urged to embrace the legend of Maximus by his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, returning from the original), who implores him, “Take your father’s strength. His name was Maximus, and I see him in you.”

Despite the links to Crowe’s character, Mescal said he didn’t get in touch with the actor at any point.

Speaking in a new interview with GQ, he said: “I wouldn’t know what to say. I think it’s also a mistake when people go, ‘This was Russell’s thing’. Russell had proven himself time and time again. And he proved himself time and time again after Gladiator. An amazing career like Russell has had wasn’t built by just Gladiator.”

Elsewhere, director Ridley Scott recently spoke about his reasons for not consulting Crowe about the new film, after the actor said he felt “slightly uncomfortable” about the sequel.

“I think [Russell Crowe] is still one of the best actors in the world, and I think we have a good relationship,” Scott said. “I hope we do. As long as he doesn’t start bitching about how he wasn’t consulted. Why would I? He’s dead!”

Scott also recently said that he is already turning his mind to the idea of a third Gladiator film. “I’ve lit the fuse,” he said. “The ending of Gladiator II is reminiscent of The Godfather, with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?’ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”