The Understandable Reason Why Baz Luhrmann Isn’t In A Hurry To Edit That 4-Hour Elvis Cut

In an interview with Screen Rant, Baz Luhrmann said he’s been probed about the extended “Elvis” cut by fans on Twitter. “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!’” While Luhrmann told the site that he won’t write off the idea of an extended cut of “Elvis,” he doesn’t see it coming out anytime soon.

“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,” Luhrmann told Screen Rant. “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.”

Luhrmann likely won’t be resting for long. In all likelihood, Warner Bros. will be running an awards season campaign for “Elvis,” which means Luhrmann and Austin Butler will be hitting the interview and special screening circuit to raise awareness of the film as critics and industry voters begin mulling their nominations.

If and when Luhrmann assembles his four-hour cut of “Elvis,” it won’t mark the first time a filmmaker has gone the extra mile in such a way. After stepping away from “Justice League” following a family tragedy, writer-director Zack Snyder eventually retooled the two-hour version of the film released by his replacement director, Joss Whedon, in 2017. Four years later — with new effects and added scenes — “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” made its long-awaited debut on HBO Max.