Terence Stamp secretly filmed Priscilla, Queen of the Desert sequel scenes before his death
Director Stephan Elliot has confirmed he "pre-shot" his scenes in Priscilla Queen of the Desert 2 before his passing
By Callum Wells
Terence Stamp filmed his scenes for a sequel to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert before his death in August, at the age of 87.
Oscar-winning actor Stamp first played Bernadette, a transgender nightclub performer, in the original 1994 cult classic. Director Stephan Elliot has confirmed he was due to return as Bernadette for the new instalment – even “pre-shooting” his parts before his passing.
Deadline reports the project used the working title Priscilla Queen of the Desert 2, and that Stamp “absolutely refused” to sign up if the follow-up was just a rehash of the first film.
Finding the right story took decades
Elliot told the publication that finding the right story took decades. Once he had a script the principal cast, including Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, were on board, only for the Covid pandemic to halt things.
Stamp was practical about the realities of ageing – he knew he “wasn’t getting any younger” – but was clear he would not accept being replaced by synthetic means. He was adamant he wasn’t going to be replaced by AI or a “digital clone” of himself.
To respect that stance, Elliot said he secured “the blessing of him and his family, Guy, Hugo and the financiers” and “decided to pre-shoot all the Bernadette scenes”. Those sequences, Elliot says, are already filmed.
“I’m still trying to work it out, but the tech is there” – director Stephan Elliot on using “CGI face replacement”
When production resumes, Elliot plans to complete Stamp’s part using “CGI face replacement” technology. “I’m still trying to work it out, but the tech is there,” he said. “We’d have to get a stand-in actor and Terence would be put onto that actor. I’m going to have to have an actor playing Terence Stamp. I mean, it is scary.”
Elliot described the new film as “very unusual” — a story that centres on “old age”. “It’s very touching,” he added. “I wrote a lot of what I went through with Terence over the last couple of years. I wrote into the script of what it’s like to get old and to be either gay, trans – I mean, it’s a subject that’s never been explored.”
The original Priscilla followed a transgender woman and two drag performers as they toured the Australian outback in a battered bus called Priscilla, winning praise from critics and audiences alike. This sequel — with Bernadette already partly in the can — now faces the task of honouring Stamp’s final work while finishing the story the cast and creatives fought for.