The Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven: Eva Green's Sybilla Gets a Tragic Subplot

The Director's Cut: A New Perspective

The director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, Ridley Scott's 2005 epic tale of the Crusades, gives Eva Green's character depth and nuance, turning her from a pure love interest into a fully fleshed-out character. Kingdom of Heaven, starring Eva Green, Orlando Bloom, and Ghassan Massoud, is a heavily fictionalized version of the build up to the Third Crusade, and the fight for Jerusalem. The historical epic centers on Balian of Ibelin, a blacksmith who finds himself in Jerusalem when seeking salvation for himself and his dead wife - he is, at his core, a good man - and one who turns the tide of history, and forges a respectful relationship with the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin.

Edward Norton as King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven

The film had a middling performance both critically and at the box office, criticized for lacking depth, and for lacking historical accuracy. However, a director's cut was released in 2005, restoring 45 minutes to the movie which the studio had cut. The new version of the movie was praised, with the missing scenes adding the necessary depth and nuance that the theatrical version missed. One of the characters who benefits the most from this cut is Eva Green's Sibylla. The Director's Cut also included a documentary, The Path to Redemption, and a featurette, Creative Accuracy: The Scholars Speak', which includes academics supporting the film and praising its historical accuracy.

Edward Norton in Kingdom of Heaven

Eva Green's Sybilla: Original vs. Director's Cut

In the original theatrical cut of Kingdom Of Heaven, Sibylla exists primarily as a love interest for Balian. When he arrives in the Holy Land, Sibylla visits him as he works on his inherited estate, and the two fall for each other. She is the Princess of Jerusalem, sister to the leper King, and in a bad marriage to the brutish Guy de Lusignan. The two become lovers, and the King later encourages Balian to marry her, and to become the next in line to the throne, but Balian refuses. By the end of the film, Sibylla renounces her claim to the throne, and she and Balian return to his home, where he resumes work as a blacksmith.

Eva Green swathed in robes and jewels, gazing mysteriously in Kingdom of Heaven

This version of her story lacks depth, and also doesn't explain why she doesn't leave Guy earlier, or why she seems to support his war and his claims to the throne. However, the director's cut includes an entire subplot for her that fixes this. In the Director's Cut, Sibylla has a young son, who is also in line to the throne. However, she learns that he also has leprosy, starting with a realization that hot wax doesn't burn him. After confirming the diagnosis, she is horrified, and having watched her brother's decline and death, she makes the heartbreaking decision to give her son poison, cradling him in her arms while he dies.

Eva Green wearing a turban and gazing downward in Kingdom of Heaven

Eva Green's Kingdom Of Heaven Director's Cut Subplot Adds Layers To Her Character

The addition of a son for Sibylla may seem minor, but it takes her from love interest to a tragic character, and explains why she makes the decisions she does. In the theatrical cut, her decision to hand Guy the crown when her brother dies, supporting his war efforts and going against the efforts of her brother to create a peaceful kingdom, make little sense. It's clear that she does not believe that her husband is in the right, and wants to see her brother's vision realized. However, when her son is considered, everything makes sense. She is backed into a corner, and would do anything to protect her child and his future.

King Viserys in House of the Dragon and King Baldwin IV in Kingdom of Heaven

This makes it even more tragic when her son is revealed to have leprosy, and Sibylla makes the difficult decision to give him poison, rather than see him suffer as her brother did. She sacrificed everything for him, only to lose him almost immediately - and this loss also adds to her story, and her decision to eventually give up the claim to Jerusalem and return with Balian. This is far from the only change included in the Kingdom of Heaven director's cut that makes the longer version the far superior of the two, but it's the one with the biggest impact on the film.

Eva Green wearing a turban and gazing downward in Kingdom of Heaven