Russell Crowe isn’t starring in the new Gladiator movie, but he still feels that he deserves to be paid for it.

Director Ridley Scott cast Paul Mescal to take centerstage in the long-awaited sequel to Russell‘s Oscar-winning blockbuster. The cast has been slowly flushed out in recent months, with so many talented names currently associated with it.

During a recent appearance, Russell weighed in on the sequel, revealing what he really thinks about it and if he has any behind the scenes tea.

Read more about Russell Crowe’s thoughts on Gladiator 2…

During a press conference at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Russell joked that he deserved a payday for Gladiator 2 based simply on how often it comes up in his interviews.

“They should be f-cking paying me for the amount of questions I get asked about the f-cking film that I am not even in,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

What does he know? By the sounds of it, absolutely nothing. “I don’t know anything about the cast, I don’t know anything about the plot,” he vowed. And don’t hold out hopes for a return for the movie: “In that world, I’m dead, six feet under. And that’s that.”

While Russell knows nothing about the sequel, he emphasized that he had faith in Ridley for taking it on.

“I couldn’t think of that movie being less than absolutely spectacular,” he opined.

He also admitted to being a little “jealous” of the new generation of stars in the movie. However, Russell previously revealed a gaping hole in the original movie that had to be corrected before it was released.