MOVIE NEWS – Back on Gladiator, Russell Crowe pitched a Banderas-style Spanish accent for Maximus Decimus Meridius, which made Ridley Scott snap; now, with the Highlander reboot and Henry Cavill on board, he might finally get to try it.

Within the film’s canon, Maximus Decimus Meridius is Hispanic: he owns a small hilltop villa near Trujillo (the Spanish dub even shifted it to Emerita Augusta – Mérida, a neat touch). That background led Crowe to propose a Spanish accent during the Roman epic’s shoot – Ridley Scott, though, flatly rejected it, staying true to his direct, no-frills approach.

We hardly need a lecture on how speech evolves across two millennia: a commander raised in Emerita Augusta wouldn’t sound like a modern Extremaduran, and an emperor from Italica wouldn’t speak like Joaquín, the former Betis player. Still, the idea stuck with Crowe, who put it to the director of Alien and Blade Runner. He revisited the moment in a recent Australian TV interview while discussing Chad Stahelski’s upcoming Highlander reboot, with the filmmaker best known for John Wick.

“You know, Maximus is ultimately Spanish; he’s a Roman general, but he’s Spanish. Early in Gladiator, during rehearsals, I went to Ridley and asked, ‘What’s the plan for his voice and all?’ He said, ‘I want yours – that’s why I hired you.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but it’s a character, right? And he’s Spanish. I’m thinking something like Antonio Banderas with slightly better elocution.’ Ridley goes, ‘No fucking way! No fucking way!’ That’s exactly what he said. ‘No fucking way you’re doing that.’ So I ended up with what I call ‘Royal Shakespeare Company – two pints after lunch.’” – 60 Minutes Australia.

Goodbye to Sean Connery’s Scottish Accent

Crowe shared the anecdote with Stahelski, who – to the actor’s delight – was far more accommodating than Scott. “If you give me Spanish, I’ll accept Spanish.” “Really?” “Yes.” “Then I’m going very Spanish with Ramírez.” In the 1986 original, Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez was memorably portrayed by Sean Connery, whose unmistakably Scottish accent remained – whether by choice or habit. Technically, the character had no fixed nationality, being born in Egypt and roaming the world, so the accent was a minor detail. This time, the goal is an overtly – very overtly – Spanish take.

The new Highlander has no release date yet. Cameras are expected to roll in the coming weeks after a delay related to Henry Cavill’s injury. The cast is stacked: Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, and Marisa Abela are among those attached. On paper, it’s a lineup capable of honoring one of the 80s’ great cult films, which later spawned multiple sequels and TV series.

Source: 3djuegos