The Australian film director will be taking his 2008 work and editing it into a "brand new" limited series for Hulu/Disney+.
'Australia' is getting a reworked miniseries, set for release at the end of this year.
Set to be titled 'Faraway Downs', the series will see the original film be reworked and stretched out into a six-episode run, featuring additional and unseen footage from the 2008 production. There will also be an alternative ending and an updated soundtrack added to the series; Luhrmann previously said that three possible conclusions were shot for the film.
The original run of the Oscar-nominated movie, which clocks in at two hours and 45 minutes, stars two of the biggest actors from down under, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, in a period drama set before WWII.
It sees an English aristocrat named Sarah Ashley inherit a sprawling ranch, but when it comes under attack from English cattle barons, she reluctantly makes a pact with a rough stock-man named Drover in order to drive 2,000 cattle over unforgiving landscapes in the Australian outback. The film concluded with Sarah, Drover, and Aboriginal boy Nullah (played by Brandon Walters) returning to Faraway Downs after the death of the villainous Fletcher (David Wenham) after he attempted to kill Nullah.
Luhrmann said in a statement: "I originally set out to take the notion of the sweeping, 'Gone With the Wind'–style epic and turn it on its head — a way of using romance and epic drama to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people and the painful scar in Australian history of the 'Stolen Generations'.
"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."
The 'Australia' miniseries 'Faraway Downs' is eyeing a winter 2022 release date on Hulu. The series will be available via Disney+ in Ireland and the UK.
Luhrmann is currently riding the wave that is 'Elvis' being a global box office smash hit. The biopic, starring Austin Butler, came out on top over 'Top Gun' during its opening weekend, finally ending the Tom Cruise blockbuster's dominance over the box office.
