It’s quite fascinating seeing different edits of acclaimed films, as we’ve seen plenty of filmmakers like Ridley Scott boasting extended versions of their movies. Sometimes studios press directors for shorter versions to make the theatrical experience a bit more pleasant for audiences, as that has long been the thinking of studios/exhibitors. So, when someone talks about a more extended edit of Terrence Malick’s “To The Wonder” being the works, that will get some attention as the director is infamous for hiring high-profile actors only for many of them not to end up in the final edit.
Keith Fraase, one of that film’s five credited editors, told the podcast, The Malick Hour (via The Film Stage, listen below), “I know there’s a longer version of ‘To The Wonder’ that they’ve been working on for a while.” While admitting he doesn’t “particularly know what that would consist of,” he speculated on “abandoned storylines” such as “a lot more with Ben [Affleck’s] job.”
If you’re unfamiliar with “To The Wonder,” it starred Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem, and Olga Kurylenko and was released in 2013 by Magnolia Pictures. Many of the film’s cast didn’t end up in the version that audiences saw.
An official logline for the Malick pic reads:
“To The Wonder” boldly and lyrically explores the complexities of love in all its forms. Parisian single mother Marina (Kurylenko) and Midwestern tourist Neil (Affleck) fall madly in love in France and relocate to Oklahoma with Marina’s young daughter to start a life together. As their relationship wanes and her visa nears expiration, Marina makes the acquaintance of a priest and fellow exile (Bardem) who is struggling with his faith, while Neil renews a relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Jane (McAdams).
Famously, the filmmaker shoots so much footage (the volume is said be staggering) that he can create entirely different films in the editing room at whim to the point that lead actors such as Adrien Brody from “The Thin Red Line” (not getting the news of his downgraded role until it started screening to press/critics) and the late Christopher Plummer (who swore to never work with Malick again) from “The New World” were nearly erased from the final versions that ended up in theaters with only a handful of scenes avoiding the cutting room floor.
READ MORE: 10 Actors Cut From Terrence Malick Films & How They Reacted
Some of the high-profile actors essentially removed from the original theatrical edit included Jessica Chastain, Michael Sheen, Rachel Weisz, Barry Pepper, and Amanda Peet, who, in theory, could be making a return in this new extended version of “To The Wonder” after having their scenes cut.
So, with that in mind, when someone is claiming that one of Terrence Malick’s films is getting a longer cut, that could be a very significant change between two edits in a big way.
You can listen to that full chat between Fraase and The Malick Hour below.
