Baz Luhrmann Hopes for Possible Sci-Fi Project: I Wouldn’t ‘Count It Out’
Baz Luhrmann isn’t a fan of sci-fi, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in giving his signature spin on the genre.
The “Elvis” auteur revealed that he is eyeing science fiction films as his next venture.
“It’s not that I don’t like fantasy — it’s just [that] other people have already done it, and they’ve done it really well,” Luhrmann told People magazine. “They’ve got their own language. I’ve kind of found myself in the world of the musical and post-modern melodrama and a particular wavering story.”
He added, “Having said that, as I’ve gotten older, I’m thinking, ‘What would I do with science fiction?’ So I wouldn’t count it out.”
Luhrmann quipped his next project could very well be “Robots the Musical!” The director has directed six films over 30 years, with “Romeo + Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge!” among his career-defining features.
“All [of my] films are as dramatic in their journey to make them as they are in terms of the work themselves,” Luhrmann said, however noting that “nothing will come quite near just how truly wild a rollercoaster ride ‘Elvis’ was, looking back.”
And Luhrmann credited collaborating with the same actors across various projects as key to his vision.
“It’s a joy when you’re working with actors that you’ve had a long history with,” the “Great Gatsby” director said. “I always want to add someone new into the mix. But I mean… even taking out Hugh [Jackman], if you look at character actors like Richard Roxburgh or David Wenham, who I worked with so many times, they’re always in my movies. So I love that.”
Luhrmann previously told IndieWire that there will eventually be a “directors’ assembly” of the four-hour concert footage from the making of “Elvis” starring Austin Butler as the King of Rock ‘n Roll.
“I have gone on record now to say not today, not tomorrow, but at some point I would do [it],” Luhrmann said in November 2022. “Because Austin did his concerts full out. He did all the numbers. Austin just did it and it was an out of body experience to watch him do those full concerts, so one day I will cut those full concerts together.”