Australian movie star Russell Crowe is once again in Malta, after teasing fans on social media with pictures and videos of Fort St Angelo and the Saluting Battery on Tuesday. 

Crowe was last in Malta in November for the filming of Prizefighter, and also made a surprise visit to Fort Ricasoli, the fort which played host to the blockbuster film Gladiator, which won him the Best Actor Oscar in 2000.

It is understood filming on Prizefighter has wrapped.

On Tuesday, Crowe took to Twitter with a picture of a hazy Fort St Angelo, with the caption, ‘Where am I now?’

He followed it up with a video of the shooting of the cannons at Upper Barrakka. 

It is unknown why Crowe is in Malta, and when asked, the Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech simply said: "Malta's film industry is working and is at its best."

His announcement was met with delight by his fans, who began speculating on whether his return might be linked to a sequel to the Ridley Scott Roman epic Gladiator, which was partly filmed in Malta in 1999.

Crowe's surprise arrival falls at the same time as Scott's Napoleon drama is being filmed in Malta, which also stars his Gladiator co-star Joaquin Phoenix

According to the movie magazine, Empire, Ridley Scott is set to start working on the sequel of Gladiator after Napoleon is completed. 

"I'm already having (the next) Gladiator written now," he said back in 2021.  "So when I've done Napoleon, Gladiator will be ready to go."

During the first edition of the Malta Film Awards, Crowe won the Malta Film Industry Honorary Award. 

In a video message shown during the Awards, Crowe had promised to return to Malta, "sooner than 21 years".