Ridley Scott plans on releasing extended cuts of The Last Duel and House of Gucci. The legendary director known for Alien, Blade Runner, and countless other classics is still somewhat fresh off the release of the medieval drama and he's now recently delivered House of Gucci, which was released in theaters on November 24. The latter film chronicles the downfall of the luxurious fashion empire and the family behind it after the Italian socialite Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) plots the murder of her husband, the head of the titular fashion house, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver).
Other than Gaga and Driver, House of Gucci also stars Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino. The film has been posting solid numbers this Thanksgiving weekend, significantly better than Scott's last feature which debuted on October 15 and was, unfortunately, a massive disappointment at the box office for 20th Century Studios, especially considering its star-studded cast that includes Driver, Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck. The Last Duel also follows a true story in which a knight (Damon) accuses his squire (Driver) of raping his wife (Comer) and challenges him to the last recorded trial by combat in medieval France.
Now, during an interview with the ReelBlend Podcast, Ridley Scott revealed some exciting news for fans of his last two films. After he was asked if there would be a director's cut of The Last Duel or House of Gucci, Scott seemed a little unsure at first, but by the end of his answer, Scott said he will probably do a "long cut" instead. Read his full answer below:
No not really. What goes out tends to be the film and I'm pretty responsible I know I'm not going to say it's going to be four hours like there's already two and a half plus which is long but I think I'm very aware of the bombing factor, you've got to watch that audiences aren't getting out, "Jesus, this is too long." So I'm aware of that as well. But I think things do play better at home because you will pause it, get a beer, and come back. So I will probably do a director's cut, yeah. A long cut. But it won't be a director's cut. It'd be a long cut.
In the process of his long-winded answer, the director seemed to convince himself that releasing extended cuts of Last Duel and Gucci for home-viewing would be a good idea. Matt Damon and his co-writer Nicole Holofcener previously revealed that Last Duel was originally three-and-a-half hours long and the film had to be "whittled down" to a theatrical cut that was an hour shorter. Therefore, there is plenty of extra footage for Scott to work with if he decides to release an extended version.
It's unclear how many hours worth of deleted scenes there are for House of Gucci, though considering how much the director generally shoots on a production, there is likely enough for a longer cut. Scott has released extended versions for eleven of his past films, including Blade Runner, Alien, and Gladiator. Whether or not The Last Duel and House of Gucci joins those ranks remains to be seen, though the director tends to stick to his word.
Source: ReelBlend Podcast