One of the better aspects of Gladiator is that Maximus (Russell Crowe) doesn't survive. The film positions his revenge story as part of something bigger in terms of the Roman republic, but he's not going to be its leader or a player in what's to come. There are reasons for Maximus to live, but none of them are particularly convincing. That's the conclusion that director Ridley Scott came to in the middle of filming, says Crowe in a recent interview with Empire [via IndieWire]:

“I remember [director] Ridley [Scott] coming up to me on set saying, ‘Look, the way this is shaping up, I don’t see how you live. This character is about one act of pure vengeance for his wife and child, and, once he’s accomplished that, what does he do?’ Crowe said. “And my joke used to be, ‘Yeah, what does Maximus do? Does he end up running a fucking pizzeria by the Colosseum?’ He has a singular purpose, which is to meet his wife in the afterlife and apologize for not being there for her. And that’s it.”

First, let's not dismiss the pizzeria idea out of hand because that sounds like a great premise for a sitcom. Who's going to come into Maximus' pizzeria this week? The comedy writes itself.

As for Maximus' famous speech where he confronts Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), Crowe reveals that the helmet kept giving him a ridiculous hairstyle every time he took it off:

“That helmet was full of static electricity and every time I took it off the hairs on the top of my head stood up,” Crowe said. “I tried doing it slowly, I tried doing it fast, but every time two hairs stand up like I’m a fucking Teletubby. So, [director Ridley Scott] solves it by going into a massive close-up, when I turn to face Commodus – it’s just forehead and chin and out of frame you can’t see the Teletubby hair wiggling in the wind.”

Gladiator celebrates its 20th anniversary next month. A sequel is in development focusing on an adult Lucius, Commodus' nephew, but with all the projects Ridley Scott has on his plate, it's unknown if Gladiator 2 will ever make it to the big screen.