Elvis
Elvis is an upcoming biographical musical film directed by Baz Luhrmann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner, from a story conceived by Luhrmann and Doner. The film follows the life and career of musician and actor Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) as well as his complex relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Luke Bracey, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Kodi Smit-McPhee, Gary Clark Jr., and Richard Roxburgh also star. The film is dedicated to the memory of The Ladd Company’s founder Alan Ladd Jr., who died in March 2022.
Elvis will premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 25, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in Australia on June 23, 2022, by Universal Pictures, and in the United States on June 24, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Development and casting
The project was first announced in April 2014, when Baz Luhrmann entered negotiations to direct the film, with Kelly Marcel writing the script.
No further development on the film was announced until March 2019, when Tom Hanks was cast in the role of Colonel Tom Parker. Luhrmann was set as director, and also replaced Marcel as screenwriter with Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce. In July, the frontrunners for the role of Presley were Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Austin Butler, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harry Styles, with Butler winning the role later that month. Luhrmann revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he got a call from actor-director Denzel Washington recommending Butler. In October, Olivia DeJonge was cast to play Priscilla Presley. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rufus Sewell were cast as Gladys and Vernon Presley in February 2020, with Yola cast as Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Filming
Principal photography began on January 28, 2020, in Australia. On March 12, 2020, production was halted when Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic. Filming resumed on September 23. In September 2020, Luke Bracey, Richard Roxburgh, Helen Thomson, Dacre Montgomery, Natasha Bassett, Xavier Samuel, Leon Ford, Kate Mulvany, Gareth Davies, Charles Grounds, Josh McConville, and Adam Dunn joined the cast of the film. Roxburgh and Thomson replaced Sewell and Gyllenhaal, respectively, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts caused by the shooting delay. Kelvin Harrison Jr. was announced to be portraying B.B. King in December. In January 2021, it was reported that Alton Mason would be portraying Little Richard in the film.
