The long awaited sequel to The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is finally in the works, according to writer and director Stephan Elliot. Elliot spoke to Deadline earlier this month, saying that the movie “is happening” and that the original cast will reprise their roles. The original 1994 movie is streaming now on Tubi and Pluto TV for fans who want to revisit it before the sequel comes out.
“I’m not repeating myself, we’ll start the new film in Australia, but by God, we’re going on one helluva journey,” Elliott said. “The original cast is on board, I’ve got a script that everybody likes, we’re still working out deals… It’s happening.” The cast includes Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, who played the three leads in the original. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is an Australian road comedy about three drag performers traveling across through the wild country on a tour bus that they have nicknamed “Priscilla.”
Pearce plays Adam Whitely in the movie, with the stage name Felicia Jollygoodfellow, while Weaving plays Anthony “Tick” Belrose, a.k.a. Mitzi Del Bra. Stamp plays Bernadette Bassenger – a transgender woman with no stage name. They live and work in Sydney as performers, but take a job at a casino in a remote town where Tick’s estranged wife works. Their journey takes them through the Outback, where they come into contact with friendly people, violent homophobes and natural hazards.
The movie was groundbreaking in its time, and helped secure the mainstream success of TV shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race. However, even as attitudes have changed Elliott resisted making a sequel, fearing he had nothing new to say. He said that he finally settled on a story that he felt passionate about during the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn’t reveal anything about the plot, but noted that the music will evolve with the time. He noted how popular Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” has become at drag queens, and said: “We’ve got to move with the times.”
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is streaming now on Tubi an Pluto TV, and is available to rent or purchase on PVOD stores as well. There’s no word on when this sequel might be coming, but Elliott said it will begin filming “as soon as possible.