The director has returned to the footage from his 2008 movie starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

In the world of Hollywood, the concept of the Director’s Cut is not uncommon. Sometimes coming years after the original release, they often offer boosted runtimes and previously deleted scenes. Or even see alternate endings reinstated. The idea is that the director can restore their vision without the pressure and constraints of a theatrical release.

Now, Baz Luhrmann has returned to his 2008 movie Australia. However, he’s going far further than simply restoring a few scenes from the cutting room floor. From the original footage, which generated a 165-minute movie, he’s created a six-chapter mini-series. The press release describes Faraway Downs as a “reimagined and extended version” of the story.

Here’s the synopsis for Faraway Downs:

Faraway Downs centers on an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who travels around the world to confront her wayward husband and sell an unusual asset:  a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian Outback called “Faraway Downs”.  Following the death of her husband, a ruthless Australian cattle baron, King Carney (Bryan Brown), plots to take her land and she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch.

The sweeping adventure romance is explored through the eyes of young Nullah (Brandon Walters), a bi-racial Indigenous Australian child caught up in the government’s draconian racial policy now referred to as the “Stolen Generations. Together the trio experiences four life-altering years, a love affair between Lady Ashley & the Drover, and the unavoidable impact of World War II on Northern Australia.

While the film received mixed reviews on release, it helped itself to a healthy 200-million-dollar box office.

Speaking about the project in June 2022, Luhrmann said:

“While Australia the film has its own life, there was another telling of this story; one with different layers, nuances and even alternative plot twists that an episodic format has allowed us to explore. Drawn from the same material, Faraway Downs is a new variation on Australia for audiences to discover.”

Faraway Downs streams on Disney + from the 26th of November, 2023. In the US it’s on Hulu and in Latin America it lives on Star+.