David Mackenzie‘s latest film, “Outlaw King,” is a life-long passion project for the Scottish director of “Hell or High Water” and “Starred Up.” The new Netflix film takes place during the medieval years of the early 14th century and recounts the story of Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine), brother of William Wallace (who was made famous by Mel Gibson in the film “Braveheart“), who went from being king to an outlaw after murdering the high-ranking son of a powerful monarch.
After a less-than-ideal premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the filmmaker admitted that he rushed the movie to the festival by delivering what he called a “wet cut.” However, after the response at TIFF, Mackenzie went back to the editing bay and created a new cut of the highly-anticipated film. And this new version is tighter and more assembled than the one shown at the fall festival.
Recently, I spoke to Mackenzie about the new cut of “Outlaw King,” the comparisons to “Braveheart,” and why the theatrical experience may very well be dead.