The Green Knight was recut by the director during the COVID-19 lockdown after he was unhappy with the original cut. The Green Knight stars Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) as Sir Gawain. The film is directed by David Lowery, who has directed smaller scale films like The Old Man & the Gun and A Ghost Story to directing Disney live-action remake like Pete's Dragon and the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy.
The Green Knight was initially set to premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival on March 16, 2020, with a theatrical rollout for May 29, 2020. Yet shortly before the premiere, SXSW was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and A24 pulled the film from the release schedule. The studio seems to have a fair amount of faith in the project as they have once again set it for a summer release date, this time for July 30, 2021 and will be counter-programming for The Jungle Cruise, which opens the same day.
It appears Lowery was not happy with the original cut of The Green Knight that was set to premiere at South by Southwest. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lowery spoke about how he used the pandemic delay to go in and recut the film. Lowery took an extra six months of editing to help rework the film and redefine the pace of the project, even giving more screentime to Alicia Vikander, who plays two roles in the film. Lowery said:
"Sometimes movies just aren’t ready, I just gave myself permission to dig back into the movie, unlock it, and rework the entire thing. I found the affection I needed to cut it with love in my heart instead of disappointment and hate. It’s different—it’s much better.”
There's no word on exactly what was changed between the two cuts of the film. Although, perhaps once the film is released the director might be more inclined to detail those changes. Lowery is one of many filmmakers who used the COVID-19 pandemic delay to help their movie. Zack Snyder used the time to go back and reshoot his Netflix film, Army of the Dead, and replace Chris E'Elia with comedian Tig Notaro. Marvel Studios release date shuffle has allowed Chloe Zhao an extra year to edit Eternals, and the studio can now promote it is directed by an Academy Award-winner.
The extra time to recut the movie may have been just what The Green Knight needed. Early word of mouth on the film has been positive. The original release of The Green Knight was one of the most anticipated and talked about premieres at South by Southwest in 2020 before it was canceled. Now there will be questions on what exactly was different in the initially planned release to the version audiences see in theaters. With an exclusive theatrical window, The Green Knight could be one of the surprise breakout hits of the summer.
Source: Vanity Fair
