There have been murmurs about a "4-Hour Cut" of Baz Luhrmann's biopic Elvis since the director revealed the existence of a longer version back in June 2022. Fans of the Austin Butler-starring film have been wondering if there was a possibility of ever seeing this extended version of the film. Now, in a new interview, Luhrmann has commented on the possiblity of that version of the film seeing the light of day.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Luhrmann had a chance to discuss the possibility of a release of this elusive 4-hour cut of the film, though he also explained that this cut won't be coming anytime soon and that much more work would need to be put into the project if this long-cut of the film was to be released. He said:
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."
Because 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.
It has been reported that Luhrmann had shot just around 240 minutes of footage for Elvis, with its theatrical release eventually being cut down to its current runtime of 2 hours and 39 minutes. Among the collection of scenes that were cut that could make their way into this extended "Luhrmann Cut" of Elvis includes a scene about the famous meeting between President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley in 1970.
While the long-cut of Elvis won't be happening anytime soon, the version that was already released has seen a fair bit of success as it is, having surpassed the $150 million mark at the domestic box office and having made more than $280 million worldwide, making it the 8th highest-grossing film in 2022, domestically. This makes Elvis the second-highest-grossing musical biopic of all time behind 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody, the biggest Warner Bros. title of the pandemic (domestically), and the second-biggest film of Luhrmann’s career, falling behind his adaptation of The Great Gatsby from 2013.
Elvis was made available for Premium Digital Ownership and for Video OnDemand rental on August 9 while the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD was released on September 13. The film was also released on HBO Max on September 2. You can watch our interview with Luhrmann here, which includes comments about his 4-Hour Cut. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.