Paul Mescal is set to star in the highly anticipated upcoming sequel to Gladiator. According to the actor, he hasn’t gotten in touch with Russell Crowe about starring as the nephew to his character.

Speaking to Esquire UK, Mescal — who will star as Lucius, the nephew of Crowe’s Maximus, in the film — said that he hasn’t contacted Crowe about playing the role. For Mescal, his character is so “totally separate” from Crowe’s that there wouldn’t be much to talk about.

“I don’t know what we would talk about,” Mescal said. “Like, I’d love to hear his stories from filming, but the character is, like, totally separate.”

What do we know about Gladiator 2?

Ridley Scott will director Gladiator 2 from a screenplay written by David Scarpa. The sequel is set to take place years after the events of the first film. Paul Mescal will play Lucius, the son of Nielsen’s Lucilla in the first film. It will also star Oscar winner Denzel Washington, as well as Pedro Pascal.

Producing Gladiator 2 will be Scott and Scott Free president Michael Pruss, alongside Red Wagon Entertainment’s Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher. Universal also has the right to partner on the project once it is packaged, as they co-produced the original along with DreamWorks. Also crew returning are costume designer Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max.

The original film was led by Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Tommy Flanagan, and more. The film centered around a disgraced Roman general who becomes a gladiator after he gets betrayed by Commodus, the greedy son of the Emperor. The role of Maximus is often considered a career-making role for Crowe, who gained worldwide recognition for his compelling performance.