RRR Director S. S. Rajamouli Reveals Plans for Baahubali: The Epic — His Next Baahubali Project and More

S.S. Rajamouli — the director behind India’s spectacle-driven hits RRR and the landmark Baahubali films — returns to his signature franchise with a tightened, single-entry presentation of the saga.

Titled Baahubali: The Epic, the new assembly compresses the two original features — Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion — into a four-hour cut built for theatrical re-release. Rajamouli frames the project not as a corrective overhaul or a mere anniversary repackaging, but as a way to introduce the Baahubali world to viewers who missed the theatrical runs and to set the stage for future installments.

Condensing the sprawling saga into one feature demanded selective pruning. Rajamouli says he struggled with the idea of cutting material — “I wasn’t OK with trimming anything,” he admits — but acknowledged the need to identify which sequences actually advance the narrative. The result favors momentum and spectacle: several romantic beats between Avanthika and Sivudu and a handful of musical interludes were reduced or removed to preserve a more vigorous, action-forward tempo.

Beyond trimming, the director used the re-edit as an opportunity to refine pacing and to subtly enhance visual effects. Rajamouli describes the tweaks as modest rather than transformative — adjustments meant for viewers who know the originals intimately rather than a wholesale remake.

Rajamouli has revisited projects before, and he treats Baahubali as an expandable universe rather than a closed two-film story. After the series’ unprecedented box-office success in India, he emphasized that the production created “a world of Baahubali” and that he intends to keep broadening that mythology. The director also downplays politically motivated readings of his work: while he accepts ordinary audience criticism, he brushes off efforts to attribute hidden ideological intentions to his films.

The streamlined cut also functions as a bridge to new Baahubali projects. Screenings of The Epic are accompanied by a teaser for a full-length 3D CG sequel, Baahubali: The Eternal War — a feature-length animated continuation distinct from earlier attempts to expand the franchise for streaming, including a shelved Netflix project and the Hotstar series Baahubali: Crown of Blood. “We are coming with a proper movie,” Rajamouli confirms about the animated sequel.

Rajamouli remains busy outside the Baahubali universe as well: he’s developing a film tentatively titled GEN 63 with Priyanka Chopra and Telugu star Mahesh Babu, and says he prefers to concentrate on one project at a time despite international interest following RRR’s global success.

Still, he stresses that Baahubali is far from finished. “I really want to take them forward,” he says of his past hits, indicating an appetite for further expansion of the world he built.

Baahubali: The Epic opens in theaters on Oct. 31.

Source: Polygon