Baz Luhrmann Open to Releasing 4-Hour Version of Elvis, But Not Anytime Soon

Baz Luhrmann says there’s more than enough footage to release an extended cut of Elvis, but he just doesn’t have the energy to take it on right now.

After finding success in theaters with even more praising the film following its streaming debut on HBO Max, could we see an extended cut of Elvis be released? Not anytime soon, if ever, according to director Baz Luhrmann. The film, starring Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker alongside Austin Butler as Elvis Presley, drew a lot of praise with its release, even garnering some early Oscar buzz. The film is also a big hitter at the box office as one of the highest-grossing musician biopics ever released, behind only the hit movie Bohemian Rhapsody.

There has been some renewed attention on Elvis this month with the movie now streaming at home on HBO Max. Some fans who love the film were left wanting more and may want to see an extended cut, such as the rumored four-hour version that people have been personally asking Luhrmann to develop. As explained in a new interview with Screen Rant, however, Luhrmann isn’t entirely closed off to the idea, and he suggests Warner Bros. would be interested in allowing him to finish an extended cut based on the film’s success. With that said, he just doesn’t see himself taking that on anytime soon.

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“Not now, and not probably next year. But I don’t close my mind to the idea that in the future, there might be a way of exploring another [cut]. I’ve got to be really careful here, because the moment I put it out there… I tell you what, all my tweets are nothing but, ‘We want the four-hour version! We want the four-hour version!’ I think people are at my gates with pitchforks saying, ‘We want the four-hour version!’ But I don’t close my mind to the idea that there would be an extended cut. Right now, with how long it’s stayed in the theaters and how well it’s done, it’s crossed the line. But it’s done so well on HBO Max over the weekend, so it’s about the parent company going,” Wow, it’s really worth spending the money.”

Related: Why Elvis Proves the Oscars Should Bring Back the Best Dance Category

The 4-Hour Cut Would Need to Be Polished Before It Could Be Released

Warner Bros. Pictures

Luhrmann explains why it’s not so simple to release a four-hour cut of Elvis. Because there had been so much footage removed from the film, those cut scenes were not given the necessary polishing to match the look and sound of the rest of the film. The truth is that it would take a very long time to go back and complete the longer version of the film.

“It isn’t just like I’ve got it, and you just put it out there. Every minute in post-production, you have to do visual effects, grading, cutting, refining, and ADR sound. It’s not like it’s just sitting there finished, and I can just push a button and it comes out. You’d have to get back in and work on it. To do an extended cut, you’d be working on it for another four or six months something. I’m not closed to it, but not now. I’m a little bit on the tired side.”

You can catch Elvis streaming on HBO Max.

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