Denzel Washington is determined to get Ridley Scott his long “overdue” Oscar. Washington, who reunites with Scott for “ Gladiator II ” almost 20 years after 2007’s “American Gangster,” told The Hollywood Reporter that Scott not having won Best Director is almost criminal.

The director explains the backstory behind Washington's scene-stealing character, and how he's not unlike the President-elect.

As legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott tells PEOPLE, the New Zealand star, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 2001 for his performance in the first film, was eager to somehow factor into Gladiator II despite his character Maximus's death at the end of the original.