In a recent interview with the magazine Empire, lead actor in the historical epic Gladiator, Russell Crowe, revealed that the original screenplay for the movie contained a major difference from how the final release ended. The interview was conducted in honor of the twentieth anniversary of Gladiator, but it's enough of a gem to warrant a spoiler warning nonetheless.

In the final script, Crowe's character Maximus Decimus Meridius, "father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife," has his vengeance in this life before dying from his wounds. Among other changes, the largest difference from the original script is that after getting his revenge, Maximus lives and simply goes on with his life.

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For Crowe and director Ridley Scott, this was a problematic conclusion to Maximus's character arc, which they saw as a man with nothing left to live for but avenging his family. By the film's conclusion, the writers found themselves with a main character who had no motivations or purpose to the story. This is perhaps best represented by Crowe's own joking suggestions during rewrites that Maximus may as well open up a pizzeria, since his character would have nothing better left to do.

Gladiator Maximus in Helmet

Ultimately, left with only the options of either exploring what Maximus's life would look like devoid of meaning, and sacrificing him at the end of the movie, the writers chose the latter. Seeing as the film grossed nearly half a billion dollars, it seems they made the right choice.

Gladiator is currently available.

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Source: Empire