A Beloved Cult Classic Is Getting The Sequel No One Saw Coming
The '90s cult classic "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" is getting a sequel 30 years after its initial release. Deadline reports that Stephan Elliott, who directed the original film, is back to direct, write, and produce the follow-up, while the original movie's stars — Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, and Hugo Weaving — are also set to return.
"We're going on one helluva journey," Elliott told Deadline. "The original cast is on board, I've got a script that everybody likes, we're still working out deals. ... It's happening."
The original film follows a trio of drag queens who set off from Sydney in an old school bus they nicknamed Priscilla to perform ABBA songs and other disco hits across the scorching deserts of Australia. They encounter various groups along the way and charm them with their glamorous frocks.
The film was a worldwide hit following its Cannes premiere, not only bringing drag artistry to the big screen years before "RuPaul's Drag Race," but also bringing LGBTQ themes to a mainstream audience. It also got an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and two Golden Globe nominations. A musical based on the film opened in Australia in 2006 before making its way to Broadway.
Bringing the party back on
As exciting as the news is, it's unclear whether financing is in place quite yet. Elliott mentions to Deadline that he is "working out deals" and looking for a producing partner, so the announcement might actually be a way of drumming up interest from studios.
Also worth noting is that Terence Stamp's character is a transgender woman being played by a straight man. It would be interesting to see a transgender actress play the role, especially if the movie is going to take decades later, with the character living as a woman all this time. Even though he is also 85 years old, Stamp is not about to give up on the character; Elliott said the actor wants to "get it happening, get it shooting this year."
Though the director said he's been asked about a sequel to "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" for decades, he has declined because he was waiting for the right idea to come along. "I thought, what am I going to do? Stick them on a cruise ship, stick them on a train?" he said. "You name it, over the years I've been pitched 'Priscilla 2' in spades." Now, he's finally cracked the story, and it's got a lot to do with the grown-up son of Stamp's character, who was seven in the original film. "I've written in a bunch of new characters to support a new generation," say Elliott.
So, how about the music? He promises to include "old disco classics" but also move into contemporary songs, too. Elliott notes that the crowd of the stage musical "goes ballistic over Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way,'" so Gaga numbers are a possibility. "We've got to move with the times."