NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- Plans are under way for a sequel to the Oscar-winning "Gladiator" without star Russell Crowe, whose character died at the end of the movie.
Djimon Hounsou, who played slave Juba in the 2000 original, told the BBC Tuesday his character would probably take over as a lead character.
However, he said, plans for the sequel were in the very preliminary stages.
"They're not happy about what they have for now, so they're still working on it," Hounsou said.
The film won five Academy Awards and Crowe was named best actor.
Hounsou can currently be seen in the futuristic thriller, "The Island" with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.
