Plans for Gladiator's ending killed hopes of a franchise, it hasn't stopped plans for a follow-up.
Given that Crowe was the driving force behind Gladiator's success, it's understandable that Scott would want the actor to be a part of the sequel. The director told Connie Nielsen), who Maximus saved from certain death at the hands of his crazed uncle.
Ideas about how to revive the character of Maximus have been circulating since 2009 when Crowe asked Australian rocker Nick Cave to write a follow-up movie about his character's journey in the afterlife, according to a 2018 article in Screen Rant:
"Last time I talked to Doug, he said he had this great idea where Maximus gets carried from the stadium and they pull back this big rock and he gets put into this cave and then the rock closes over and he's anointed with oils. And then the rock opens up and he comes out. And I said, "Doug, I don't think we have the rights to that story."
Wick had his own story to share regarding an unrealized story arc to keep Crowe in the Gladiator 2 fold. In 2020, the producer told ComicBook.com that after Gladiator's opening weekend, Crowe's agent called him with the idea that Maximus faked his death with his body being carried out on a stretcher and around the corner. At that point, the famed combatant reveals he's still very much alive by high-fiving his co-conspirators.
In May 2020, when House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, and Jared Leto.
