Hawke wants Magnificent Seven movie’s 5-hour cut released

Hawke reveals he wants the five-hour cut of The Magnificent Seven movie remake released, and praises director Antoine Fuqua’s work. Hawke reveals that a five-hour cut of The Magnificent Seven remake exists and hopes to see it released.

The 2016 film served as a new adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s iconic 1954 film Seven Samurai and the 1960 Western remake The Magnificent Seven, directed by Antoine Fuqua on a script by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk from True Detective.

A corrupt industrialist forces the residents of a small town into a mine for cheap, so Sam Chisholm gathers a group of men to defend the town. The Magnificent Seven remake stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Peter Sarsgaard, and Haley Bennett.

As a result of its theatrical release in late 2016, the film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. While praise was directed toward Fuqua’s direction, action sequences, performances by the cast, and the final score by two-time Oscar winner James Horner, criticism was directed at the film’s story and screenplay.

Despite mixed reviews, The Magnificent Seven earned over $162 million against its $90 million production budget at the box office. Ahead of Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming Hulu miniseries about the Los Angeles Lakers, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with the director and his frequent collaborators.

In an interview with Ethan Hawke, the actor praised his director’s efforts on The Magnificent Seven movie remake and teased his hopes for a five-hour version. The Magnificent Seven remake’s five-hour cut has never been officially announced before, but there have been previous indications of footage being removed.

When Fuqua promoted The Equalizer 2 a few years ago, he said he had to cut the film down to meet the PG-13 rating that MGM executives wanted. As a result, the studio wanted to be sure to get their money back and take advantage of a younger audience drawn to its ensemble cast, especially Chris Pratt, who was riding on his early success as a blockbuster star in Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World.

Moreover, The Magnificent Seven’s Blu-ray release included seven-and-a-half minutes of deleted scenes, leaving some curious about other extras. Hawke, who has worked with Fuqua three times, may eagerly await the release of The Magnificent Seven remake’s five-hour cut, but audiences may not be so eager.

Though both scored critical acclaim, the longer runtimes of Matt Reeves’ The Batman and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune largely divided viewers, with some feeling the pacing and story weren’t enough to encompass their lengths, and given that Fuqua’s Western remake did not do well with critics or audiences, there is a high likelihood that the longer cut won’t be released any time soon. In the meantime, audiences can look forward to Fuqua’s next film, Will Smith starring in Emancipation, due in 2023.

Dakota Cameron

Dakota Cameron is a seasoned web content writer and covers the Hollywood movies for the MovieThop Website
Ms. Cameron began his professional life as a freelance blogger. Later, he worked for Witbe as a content writer for two years. His interests include blogging, reading, movies and travel.
Ms. Cameron graduated in Journalism and Mass Communication from University State of Georgia University. He is fluent in French, Spanish, and other languages.