Baz Luhrmann Reworks 2008 Movie Australia Into Six-Hour Director's Cut Series Called Faraway Downs

Baz Luhrmann is turning Australia into a six-part series.

Luhrmann has officially revealed his 2008 epic adventure film, which starred Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, will be transformed into a limited Hulu series titled Faraway Downs only using footage he'd already shot for the movie. The new version will come with a new ending and an updated soundtrack. In The series will be available on Disney+ in international markets. 

He said in a statement: "I originally set out to take the notion of the sweeping, Gone With the Wind-style epic and turn it on its head — a way of using romance and epic drama to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people and the painful scar in Australian history of the Stolen Generations.

“While Australia the film has its own life, there was another telling of this story; one with different layers, nuances and even alternative plot twists that an episodic format has allowed us to explore.

"Drawn from the same material, Faraway Downs is a new variation on Australia for audiences to discover.”

Faraway Downs will follow English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) as she inherits a large cattle ranch in Australia following the death of her husband.

Cattle barons look to take her land, and so she joins forces with a cattle drover (Jackman) to protect the ranch.

The series will be told through young Nullah (Brandon Walters), who is a bi-racial Indigenous Australian who is caught up in the 'Stolen Generations'.

The original Australia received mixed reviews and grossed US$211 million (S$294 mil) on a US$130 million budget. It picked up an Oscar nomination for Costume Designed.

Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich added: "Baz is one of the world’s great auteur storytellers, so revisiting Faraway Downs and experiencing his incredible film Australia in this unique, new episodic format has been a revelatory and unique adventure.

“We look forward to taking viewers into the ranch and experiencing all of the stories that are both held within and continue to unfold there.”

News of the Faraway Downs came shortly after Luhrmann revealed that there is a four-hour cut of his latest magnum opus Elvis. But that's another story for another day. — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos