For months now, there has been talk about some sort of four-hour cut of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.” At first, it seemed as if Luhrmann himself wanted to see it happen. Now, it appears fans are desperate to see more of the somewhat over-the-top world the filmmaker created for his film about the King of Rock ‘n Roll. But according to Luhrmann, the cut everyone is talking about isn’t really filled with more plot, per se. Instead, it’s more of a concert film.
READ MORE: Baz Luhrmann Says Heath Ledger & Jake Gyllenhaal Auditioned For ‘Moulin Rouge’
Speaking to IndieWire, Baz Luhrmann talked about his extended cut of “Elvis.” While he has no timeline for when he might want to work on it, he did clarify what the new cut of the film would look like. Basically, it would turn “Elvis” into a concert film, complete with star Austin Bulter doing a lot more performing.
“It’s a directors’ assembly. It’s not a cut,” he explained. “There’s a whole lot of material that adds up to four hours, but I have gone on record now to say not today, not tomorrow, but at some point, I would do [it]. Because Austin did his concerts full out. He did all the numbers. Austin just did it and it was an out-of-body experience to watch him do those full concerts, so one day I will cut those full concerts together.”
Luhrmann added, “We just had all the cameras. [Cinematographer] Mandy Walker even got the lenses reproduced from the ’60s,’70s, and ’80s to match exactly everything.”
READ MORE: Baz Luhrmann Passed On Harry Styles Starring In ‘Elvis’ Because “He’s Already An Icon”
So, if you were looking for more subplots and dramatic scenes between the cast of the film, that’s not the extended cut of “Elvis” that you’ll likely see in the future. Instead, if you want to see more of Butler’s acclaimed performance as he belts out more Elvis Presley tunes and recreates famous concert moments, then you might be in luck.
Of course, none of this confirms the new concert cut of “Elvis” is even coming out anytime soon. As Luhrmann suggests, it’s definitely not something on his schedule right now. Perhaps if the film wins a ton of awards, the demand will be there. Or maybe, in the future, when the film celebrates some sort of anniversary, the filmmaker will be inspired to take on the film again. We’ll just have to wait and see.