'Midsommar' Director's Cut Will Be An Apple TV Exclusive

Labor Day traditionally marks the unofficial end of summer, but if you'd like to revisit writer/director Ari Aster's shot-in-broad-daylight horror film Midsommar, his director's cut is still playing in a few select theaters. But if you don't want to hoof it out to a theater to check it out, the extended director's cut is coming to home video through an exclusive deal with Apple TV.

Bloody-Disgusting noticed that on the film's iTunes page, where audiences can pre-order the movie right now, there's the following message:

"Your purchase of Midsommar comes with Ari Aster's extended and unrated director's cut, exclusive to Apple TV. Plus go behind the scenes with the cast and crew of Midsommar in an exclusive featurette, and watch the creation of Hälsingland in time-lapse footage of the elaborate and meticulous set construction."

To be clear, this doesn't mean that you must own a literal Apple TV to be able to watch this version of the movie. Even if you do not own an Apple TV, you'll still be able to purchase this extended Midsommar director's cut through iTunes – or what we used to know as iTunes, anyway. Apple has rebranded that program in anticipation of the upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service; it used to be a one-stop shop for music, movies, and TV, but now those categories have been split off into two separate apps: Apple Music (self-explanatory), and Apple TV, where users can now buy and rent movies and TV shows.

Update: This afternoon, A24 sent us further clarification:

Although this is an Apple exclusive, these extras can be viewed anywhere you can access your purchase. This includes the Apple app on your Apple TV, Apple device, and iTunes.

An exclusive Apple deal for a specific cut of a film is interesting to me, because I can't remember off the top of my head if that's ever happened before. Last year, A24 and Apple struck a deal to produce a slate of multiple films together, and even though Apple didn't have anything to do with the production of Midsommar (as far as I can tell), I suppose it makes sense that those two companies are looking for ways to extend their business relationship.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment is handling the home video release of Midsommar's theatrical cut. Sadly, the only bonus features attached to the physical Blu-ray and DVD release are a featurette about the making of the film and a promo for the "bear in the cage" toy, which is probably the same one A24 released a few months ago. It's kind of a bummer that the director's cut won't be available on the Blu-ray, but at least it'll be accessible for those who want to find it.

Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight.

For much more on Midsommar, be sure to read our review and interviews with Ari Aster, actors Jack Reynor and Will Poulter, and production designer Henrik Svensson. Plus, check out this great piece on the way the movie handles catharsis, and this one exploring all the film's flower imagery.