A lengthier version of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biography has been in the works since the director’s June 2022 revelation, and rumours of a “4-Hour Cut” have been circulating ever since. Fans of the film starring Austin Butler have pondered whether or not they would ever get to view this expanded cut of the movie. Luhrmann has just discussed the release of an alternate cut of the film in a new interview. In an interview with Screen Rant, Luhrmann discussed the potential of releasing the illusive 4-hour version of the picture, however, he also emphasised that this cut won’t be arriving any time soon and that much more work would need to be done into the production of this long-cut of the film was to be published.
His words were as follows: Neither now nor next year is a likely timeframe. However, I am not opposed to the possibility that another [cut] may be discovered in the future. I have to tread carefully because as soon as word gets out, all I hear is, “We want the four-hour version! We want the four-hour version!” in my tweets. Everyone seems to be lining up outside my house with pitchforks and chanting, “We want the four-hour version!” However, the possibility of a longer edit is not something I rule out entirely. Given how long it has been playing in cinemas and how successful it has been, it has officially been a box office success. However, it has performed exceptionally well on HBO Max over the weekend, which has led the parent firm to remark, “Wow, that’s truly worth investing the money.”
This isn’t like I already knew it, and you simply made everyone else aware of it. In post-production, you’re always working on things like visual effects, colour correction, editing, and sound design, as well as doing things like additional dialogue recordings. It isn’t like it’s already done and waiting for me to press a button. That requires you to go back inside and continue fixing it. An additional four or six months of labour would be required to complete an extended cut. There’s always a chance I may be open to it, but not right now. I’m feeling a little bit fatigued right now. There were reportedly only about 240 minutes of material taken by Luhrmann for Elvis before it was trimmed down to its current 2 hours and 39 minutes for its theatrical premiere.
The iconic 1970 encounter between President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley is depicted in a deleted sequence that may make it into this expanded “Luhrmann Cut” of Elvis. Elvis: The Long Cut will not be released any time soon, but the theatrical cut has already proven to be rather successful, generating over $150 million in North America and over $280 million globally to rank as the eighth highest-grossing picture of 2022.
This makes Elvis the second highest-grossing musical biopic of all time, behind only Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the most successful domestic release for Warner Bros. this year, and the second most successful picture of Baz Luhrmann’s career, behind only his 2013 adaption of The Great Gatsby. Release dates for the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD versions of Elvis were set on September 13, following the September 13 release of the film’s Premium Digital Ownership and Video OnDemand versions. On September 2, the film was also made available on HBO Max.