“Gladiator” changed Russell Crowe’s life. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Maximus in Ridley Scott’s Roman Empire epic and spent a few years as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The film means a lot to him personally. So he’s having some mixed feelings about “Gladiator II,” Scott’s upcoming sequel starring Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal as Maximus’ son, Lucius.

Spoiler alert for a 24-year-old movie: Maximus dies at the end of “Gladiator.” So Crowe is not in “Gladiator II,” and he’s not involved with the production. In an interview with radio host Kyle Meredith, Crowe admitted to being “slightly uncomfortable” with the fact that they’re making another “Gladiator” film.

“Because of course, I’m dead, and I have no say in what gets done,” he explained, with a little bit of a wry smile. “A couple of things that I’ve heard,...