Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert sequel in the works 30 years later

Priscilla director Stephen Elliott promises "the original cast is on board… It's happening."

By William Hughes | April 20, 2024 | 9:12pm

Aux News Queen of the Desert

Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert sequel in the works 30 years later

The marquee for the stage musical of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert Photo: David Burrows

It feels weirdly reductive, 30 years later, to refer to The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert as simply a “cult” film. Stephen Elliott’s Oscar-winning comedy, about three drag performers traveling across Australia, has entered the canon of films exploring the lives of LGBTQ+ characters on film, using the road-trip structure to tell a funny, heartwarming story about its three leads. (Even if the film has come under fire, both at the time of its release, and since, for its depictions of some of its minor character, most notably Cynthia, a Filipinia woman played by Cynthia Campos.)

Now, Elliott says he’s ready to get the bus back on the road, 30 years later, telling Deadline this week that a sequel to Priscilla is definitely happening. More than that, he’s also reportedly got all three of the original film’s stars—Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp, the latter of whom played trans character Bernadette in the original film—on board to reprise their roles.

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“The original cast is on board, I’ve got a script that everybody likes, we’re still working out deals. … It’s happening,” Elliott asserted. He’s also apparently working on a remaster of the original film, and has just kicked off a new musical interpretation of the film, Priscilla The Party!, in London’s West End. He is, in other words, very gung-ho on revisiting the film, and, per his comments, so are the stars—even Stamp, who’s now 85 years old, and who apparently wants to “get it happening, get it shooting this year. Actually, as soon as possible.”