Whether you feel Ridley Scott’s Best Picture winner “Gladiator” is a red-blooded, fist-pumping swords and sandals brouhaha or a “muddy, fuzzy, and indistinct” affair (as Roger Ebert put it in his two-star review at the time of its release, referring to Scott’s epic as “‘Spartacus’ Lite”), we can surely all agree it’s got a killer cast. Russell Crowe as the stoic hero Maximus, playing the role that snagged him an Oscar a year after he should’ve won for “The Insider,” is the calm at the center of the storm. He has to be a little boring, otherwise he wouldn’t work as the foil to Joaquin Phoenix’s larger-than-life turn as Commodus (though Scott was right when he argued Phoenix’s lecherous, conniving character isn’t the true “villain” of the piece).
The rest of the ensemble is wall-to-wall veterans firing on all cylinders, including Connie Nielsen as Maximus’ incorruptible ex and Commodus’ sister Lucilla, Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius (playing the Roman emperor as a frail old man finally forced to reckon with his bloody legacy), Djimon Hounsou as Maximus’ confidante, fellow enslaved arena fighter, and all-around good guy, Juba, and Oliver Reed as Maximus and Juba’s crafty gladiator-turned-trainer Antonius Proximo. Juba, particularly, is almost as much the heart of the film as Maximus, and his stirring parting words when he buries his friend at the end (“And now we are free. I will see you again … but not yet … Not yet!”) seem to foreshadow his return in the sequel.
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Speaking last year on the BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast, Hounsou confirmed that he will not be appearing in Scott’s “Gladiator II.” “Honestly, no,” he explained to the outlet, adding that he was supposed to be involved in the film before circumstances beyond his control prevented that from happening.
Justice for Djimon Hounsou!
It’s been 27 years since Hounsou electrified the screen as reluctant uprising leader Cinqué in Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad,” yet Hollywood still has no idea what to do with the Beninese-born actor. In spite of this, Hounsou has spent his career making meals out of bit supporting roles in big productions, starting with “Gladiator” and continuing on to “The Island,” “Constantine,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” “A Quiet Place: Part II,” and many more. It’s telling that “Blood Diamond,” one of the rare occasions where Hounsou has played a co-lead since “Amistad,” also snagged him an Oscar nod (his second after the one he got for “In America”).
To hear the actor tell it, Honsou not returning for “Gladiator II” was “”[…] a pure accident in the way it unfolded. I was going to be part of it. Circumstances dictated it to be something different.” He didn’t specify what those were, but given his packed schedule (he’s co-starred in both “Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” this year and has another film, “Last Breath,” lined up for early 2025), it stands to reason the production delay on Scott’s sequel amidst the 2023 writers and actors’ strikes might have forced Hounsou to back out.
If it’s any consolation, Juba probably didn’t have all that significant a role in “Gladiator II” anyway. Nielsen may be the sole “Gladiator” cast member actually appearing in Scott’s sequel, yet its trailer implies most of the focus will be on Lucilla’s now-adult son Lucius (Paul Mescal) and a new generation of messy Roman emperors, scheming former gladiators, and the honorable dudes caught up in their games. Hounsou deserves better than a glorified “Hey, remember that guy?” cameo.
“Gladiator II” opens in theaters on November 22, 2024.
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