Russell Crowe says 'Gladiator 2' was a failure because it lacked 'a moral core' ⚔️
"They failed, and they failed because they didn’t understand what made the first film so successful: it had a moral core. Here’s the thing, most people want that. On the surface, they go for entertainment or whatever, but if they’re going to love something and keep it with them forever, like that movie? … The love for that thing is because of its moral core ... In a way, we all want to be that guy who can stay that strong, and all women want a man who can love [them] in that way"
He says the studio wanted a sex scene with Maximus but he kept saying no:
“I just kept pushing back. I said, ‘This is a story about a man who’s avenging the death of his wife and his child. There cannot be a moment on that journey where he stops and has sex with somebody. It doesn’t make any sense… that destroys the journey’"
“They fought me ... I just stuck to my guns. Luckily for me, Ridley Scott [agreed] with me back then, and that that was the moral core of the film"
(via @Deadline)
@RetroTechDreams Wild that a tabletop wargame based on this is being released in 2026. They will even bring back the classic units of SC1 and Brood War.
@ATRightMovies The novel is very much worth a read. While the movie version is a work of art in its own right and rightfully praised, I would still like to see a film version of the novel one day. That could have been done by these reboots, but alas...