Former Neighbours star Guy Pearce has shared a major update about the sequel to his 1994 cult classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Written and directed by Stephan Elliott, the film saw Pearce star alongside Hugo Weaving and Terence Stamp.
The trio played two drag queens and a transgender woman, who travel across the Australian outback in a tour bus as they meet an eclectic mix of characters along the way.
In 2024, Elliott confirmed that a sequel was in the works, with Pearce, Hugo Weaving and Terence Stamp all attached to reprise their roles. The latter, who played Bernadette Bassenger, passed away last year.
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Speaking about the sequel last year, Pearce said they were working on a script to recreate the “amazing experience” from the first film, but added that they would only make the follow-up if it was “worthwhile” (via Deadline).
Now, Pearce has offered fans an update on the project’s progress by suggesting that the sequel could arrive as early as 2028, though the actor did note that this was merely an estimate.
Speaking to Good Morning America during a red carpet appearance, Pearce said: “Well, the sequel, right, which is going to be, what are we now ’26? We’ll probably shoot it ’27. It’ll come out ’28.”
In 2025, Elliott also revealed to Deadline that the late Stamp, who died aged 87 in August, had reprised his role as Bernadette, a transgender nightclub artist, and had spent the last few months of his life filming for the sequel.
After coming up with a “pretty special” script, Elliott said he “decided to pre-shoot all the Bernadette scenes”, adding: “He was 87, turning 88… And I put him through a multi-cam shoot, spread over several gruelling sessions.
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“All I can say is, that the old trouper gave it everything he had. He hated putting the wig on again. But at the same time, my God, you could have bottled that smile.
“I mean, it was brilliant fun, and he really did have the time of his life. But calling ‘that’s a wrap’ on Terence Stamp… are going to be words that will haunt me to the day I die.”
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.