Remember some of the crazy names that apparently screen-tested for the coveted role of Elvis Presley in flamboyant Aussie director Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic? Back in January, The Hollywood Reporter spilled that actors such as Miles Teller, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ansel Elgort had been considered for the part. Even former One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles was an option!
So it was somewhat of a surprise when Austin Butler was announced as Presley in July. Butler is well-known to Gen Z due to his consistent work in Disney and Nickelodeon shows, but has really only appeared before older audiences in Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood as Manson family heavy Charles ‘Tex’ Watson. To say that Butler’s part in the biopic is a star-making role would be a huge understatement.
Now, we’ve suddenly got a Priscilla for our Elvis – and, like Luhrmann, she’s an Aussie! Olivia DeJonge has been cast as Elvis’s big-haired underage bride Priscilla. DeJonge is best known for her roles in horror films like Better Watch Out and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, in which she appeared as a tween.
Luhrmann’s biopic is currently in pre-production, and is as of yet untitled. The film will focus upon the difficult, often controlling relationship between Presley and his manager Colonel Tom Parker, to be played by Tom Hanks. Hopefully, like Luhrmann’s style-over-substance The Great Gatsby adaptation, the film will be an outrageously flashy take on a defining period in American history with an all-star soundtrack.
DeJonge and Butler will have Elvis fans all shook up in October 2021 – two years away! – but in the meantime, Luhrmann is set to start shooting in February somewhere in Australia, working to accommodate Hanks’ schedule.
