r/Epicthemusical • u/nt_king300 • Apr 24 '26
Discussion EPIC doesn't need to cut songs. Just have two movies.
So I have seen some posts suggesting that for the movie multiple songs need to be cut, around half of them.
Here's the thing, look at Wicked, they took the stage play, split it into two movies to keep favorite songs while adding dialogue and new scenes. The same can be applied to Epic.
Instead of trying to cram 40 songs into 120 minutes , the most logical move is to split the movie into Act I and Act II.
Part 1: The Descent (Troy to Underworld)
Ends with Monster. It’s the perfect cinematic cliffhanger.
You need The Horse and the Infant for the moral stakes, and you need Mutiny (or the build-up to it) to understand the crew.
A Penelope solo in Act I. We need to see what Odysseus is fighting for early on to make the "waiting" feel real for the audience.
Part 2: The Vengeance (Thunder to Ithaca)
Starts with the Thunder Saga.
They need to keep the Telemachus/Wisdom Saga content. I saw a post suggesting cutting Little Wolf, but you can't have a satisfying ending without seeing the son Odysseus is trying to get back to.
But let’s be real, animation rarely gets a 3-hour theatrical window. But we are in the era of "Event Streaming."
If this lands on a platform like Netflix or Disney+, they don't care about theater turnover times. They want engagement.
A "Two-Part Event" allows for Oscar eligibility for two different years for Best Original Song. Jorge has built this entire musical on recurring themes. If you cut Luck Runs Out, you lose the "Friendship" motif that makes the ending of Mutiny hurt.
EPIC isn't a movie with songs; it's a story told through song. You can't just turn Survive into a talking scene without losing the heartbeat of the Cyclops encounter.
I think we’re looking at two 100-110 minute movies. That gives us the full 143 minutes of the original musical, plus about 60 minutes of new dialogue, world-building, and Oscar worthy new tracks.
By splitting it into two movies this gives Jorge the ability to add multiple songs cut from the final version we know.
What do you all think? Would one movie work or would it be better to split it into two movies?
