After the great successes of Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, another musical legend is set to get the biopic treatment. Elvis Presley's story will be told by Baz Luhrmann, the director known for his stylised work on Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby.
According to the Wrap, Luhrmann has been developing the project with his wife, and frequent creative collaborator, Catherine Martin since filming finished on 2013's The Great Gatsby. The pair are set to co-produce the Elvis biopic.
The film explores Presley’s life through the lens of his complicated, 20-year relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who will be played by Tom Hanks.
After a competitive casting process, the 27-year-old actor Austin Butler has been chosen to play Presley, Warner Bros announced.
Ansel Elgort, Harry Styles and Miles Teller all reportedly tested for the role ultimately won by Butler, an American actor and singer best known for his roles as James “Wilke” Wilkerson in Switched at Birth, Jordan Gallagher on Ruby & The Rockits, Sebastian Kydd in The Carrie Diaries, and Wil Ohmsford in The Shannara Chronicles.
Butler posted the news to Instagram, quoting from Presley’s hit Love Me Tender: “You have made my life complete, and I love you so.”
Luhrmann said: “I knew I couldn’t make this film if the casting wasn’t absolutely right, and we searched thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist."
“I had heard about Austin Butler from his stand-out role opposite Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh on Broadway, and through a journey of extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops."
“I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world’s most iconic musical figures.”
Production is to begin early next year, with filming taking place in Queensland, Australia.
Butler, who has a role in Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die, has also been cast in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, set in 1960s Los Angeles and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.