Russell Crowe stunned by Gladiator 2 set

Russell Crowe was taken aback when he saw the set for Ridley Scott's Gladiator sequel - as it looked exactly the same as it did when he starred in the original film.

Russell received an Academy Award for his performance as Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 original, but won't be returning for the follow-up due to the death of his character.

However, while visiting Malta, where the original and its sequel are being filmed, he did sneak a look at the set.

"I was in Malta recently," he said at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, according to Deadline."Because we did a concert there, and I looked across to Fort Ricasoli, and the Colosseum's been built there again, just like it was in 1999. I tell you, man, it was like a time warp - for a couple of seconds there, I was like, What year is this? Where are we?" I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting that they would rebuild the Colosseum in the exact same place."

However, Russell said he did not have any further details on the film's cast or plot. Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, and Paul Mescal are reportedly set to star - with Connie Nielsen also set to reprise her role of Lucilla.

The A Beautiful Mind star also expressed an interest in working with Scott again, despite not joining forces since 2010's Robin Hood epic.

"We have a similar energy, really, Ridley and I," the star added. "We know it's all about the movie - everything that we do on a daily basis is just about making the movie - and one of these days we'll get to do another one. Hopefully. We'll see."