Stanley Kubrick‘s daughter Vivian is addressing a long-circulating rumor regarding the master filmmaker’s final movie, 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut.
Kubrick took to X to give a very detailed response to a conspiracy theory that involves unreleased footage, a different ending, and even Jeffrey Epstein.
First, here’s the rumor, which basically combines a couple different ideas that have been making the rounds for years: Kubrick’s original cut supposedly contained an additional 20 minutes of footage (for a runtime of 179 minutes instead of 159 minutes) and a much darker ending. In this version, the sex cult that ensnares Tom Cruise’s character is revealed to be a child sex ring, and Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s characters sacrifice their daughter to the cult. As the theory goes, Warner Bros. objected to this ending, and re-cut the film after Kubrick died suddenly (and, in some tellings of the tale, suspiciously). The idea was that Kubrick either knew about Epstein’s crimes, or knew about a similar group. The theory was boosted by a 2024 episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast where screenwriter Roger Avary said he heard such reports secondhand.
Previously, the film’s editor, Nigel Galt, said Kubrick’s final edit is essentially the same movie that was released. Now Vivian Kubrick, who collaborated with her father on several films, has weighed in (and tagged Rogan, Alex Jones and included a slew of Epstein-related hashtags for good measure).
