Russell Crowe Only Sees ‘Gladiator II’ as a ‘Missed Paycheck for Himself’: ‘Terribly Bad Form’

Russell Crowe has turned heads with his recent comments calling out Dakota Johnson and slamming the notion of Gladiator II . A source exclusively tells Closer that pals are urging him to take a chill pill as girlfriend Britney Theriot bears the brunt of his foul moods.

"The elephant in the room here, pun intended, is that a few years back, Paramount was actively looking at scripts for Gladiator II that would have magically revived Russell's Maximus character [who died on camera in the first film] and sent him on a new adventure,” the insider on the film’s team says. “I don't think Russell did himself any favors by never getting back into the shape he was in for the first movie -- it makes it completely understandable that the studio would go in a different direction when they finally got around to making the movie.”

The source adds that Russell, 60, is likely “hurt” that “his old pal Denzel Washington has an incredibly juicy role in the sequel.”

“But Russell could have taken the high road here and wished the production his best, and he decidedly did not go that route,” the insider continues. “The movie is coming out in just a few months and nobody at Paramount needs the headache of the headlines Russell's remarks generated! But Russell has proven time and time again that he just can't help himself.”

Gladiator II is set for release on November 22 and stars Paul Mescal , Denzel, 69, Pedro Pascal , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger , Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi . Russell, who played the lead role in director Ridley Scott’s 2000 action-adventure film set in Roman times, shared his thoughts on the sequel in an interview on the “ Kyle Meredith With… ” podcast on June 10.

“I’m slightly uncomfortable, the fact that they’re making another one, you know? Because of course, I’m dead, and I have no say in what gets done. A couple of things that I’ve heard, I’m like, ‘No, no, no. That’s not in the moral journey of that particular character.’ But you know, I can’t say anything. That’s not my place. I’m six feet under. So we’ll see what that is like,” he said.

The A Beautiful Mind actor added that he “reflects back” on that time in his life and considers the opportunities that it brought him, and he feels “a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy. Because I remember when I had tendons.”

The source concludes of Russell’s comments, “It makes you wonder what kind of partner he is and how he can keep a girlfriend around in the first place when he insists on making everything about him and his bruised but enormous ego! He just can't look at Gladiator II as anything but a missed paycheck for himself, when he should be rooting for the movie business as a whole to get back on its feet after COVID and the summer 2023 strikes. It's terribly bad form."

Russell has been dating Britney, 32, since November 2020 after they met on the set of Broken City in 2013.

The actor also made headlines for his remarks about Dakota, 34, and Madame Web . While speaking to GQ UK , he reflected on her comment that the Marvel film felt like it was "made by committee” and lost its artistic value.

"I don't want to make any comments to what anybody else might have said or what their experience is," Russell said in the June 13 interview. "But ... You're telling me you signed up for a Marvel movie, and some f--king universe for cartoon characters and you didn't get enough pathos?"

He continued, “It's a gigantic machine, and they make movies at a certain size. These are jobs. You know: here's your role, play the role. If you're expecting this to be some kind of life-changing event, I just think you're here for the wrong reasons."