Much has been said about Russell Crowe's absence from the new Gladiator sequel ... For one — spoiler alert — Maximus died at the end of the first film. Gladiator II takes place 16 years after his death, and his legacy looms large in Rome.

Ridley Scott's historical epic, Gladiator, is a cinematic masterpiece, and it's not hard to see why. The 2000 Oscar-winning film wowed critics and fans alike. It showed the uglier side of Rome's politicians,

Crowe won a Best Actor Oscar for playing the character of Maximus, who dies at the end of the 2000 original Russell Crowe doesn't return to the Colosseum in the long anticipated sequel to Gladiator — but it wasn't for a lack of trying.