Elvis Presley is here!! with the premiere all set to be displayed at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, Warner Brothers dropped the 2nd trailer of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis which stars Austin Butler in a titular role. The revered figure, Elvis Presley is not someone who is easily forgotten as he sure was the King of Rock and Roll.
Oh yes 💖 https://t.co/VN3802JlkE
— Ginette Gentine (@GentineGinette) May 23, 2022
The second trailer revealed how Austin Butler’s Elvis Presly is “gonna do something different” in the upcoming biopic.
The New Trailer for the Biopic ‘Elvis’
The latest trailer of the biopic shows how Elvis avoids all the warnings to provide a sexually brazed performance. The trailer enables us to have a sneak-peek into Elvis’s relationship with his fans, and his mother, his romance with Priscilla and also features his comeback special from 1968.
Stevie Nicks is featured on the soundtrack to the new Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis Presley biopic “Elvis” hitting theatres on June 24. Not sure what song she covered. pic.twitter.com/qXHsYkLbn5
— FLEETWOOD MAC NEWS (@Nickslive) May 23, 2022
The trailer also showcases new music including the one by Eminem and CeeLo Green, Doja Cat, Jack White, Kacey Musgraves, Stevie Nicks and Jack White. “Music in this film is as important as words,” Luhrmann earlier expressed. “Because Elvis was a man of few words. When he spoke, he spoke with such intent and meaning, but where he communicated himself was through song…You hear a lot of classic Elvis, but we also have in the score all sorts of DNA and some contemporary interpretations — ways to make younger audiences understand what Elvis felt like. It isn’t a nostalgia piece.”
The soundtrack for #ElvisMovie starring Austin Butler features a brand new song from Eminem and CeeLo Green. pic.twitter.com/P9NdBNHdOk
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) May 23, 2022
Casting and Creators of the Film
The titular role of Elvis as we know is being played by Austin Butler, Tom Hanks plays the role of Tom Parker and Olivia DeJonge is being played by Priscilla. The public has high expectations from the upcoming film, as a biopic of The King by the person who made “Moulin Rouge!”- “a Technicolor fantasia about one of the 20th century’s most fascinating pop culture icons. (That moment where his costumes change magically while he’s on stage is incredible),” this is what everyone is waiting for.
Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, has shared a glowing review about director Baz Luhrmann's upcoming musical biopic about her late father, Elvis. https://t.co/2dNHzlqV2P
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 17, 2022
Helen Thompson plays Elvis’ mother, Glady Presely alongside Richard Roxburgh who plays Elvis’ father, Vernon Presley. Luke Bracey stars as Jerry chilling alongside Natasha Bassett as Dixie Locke, David Wenham as Hank Snow, Josh McConville as Sam Phillips, Kate Mulvany as Marion Keisker, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers Snow, Patrick Sheare as Dewey Phillips, Xavier Samuel as Scotty Moore and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. has been cast as B.B. King in Warner Bros’ ‘ELVIS’ biopic.
(Source: Deadline) pic.twitter.com/GdF9lPHwCU
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 30, 2020
Narrative of the Film
The narrative unfurls through the view of Tom Parker, the character played by Hanks, someone Elvis joked about as a newcomer. As revealed in the trailer, Tom was represented by Elvis as his manager and helped gather all the fandom but this relationship was not at all simple especially when Elvis’ stardom began to fade.
Biopics need to present the truth. Selling/telling the same old "safe" stories, sticking to a corporate narrative, or making sure not to color outside the lines, does nothing. Hoping the Elvis biopic by @bazluhrmann succeeds. https://t.co/yLSO73a5rq
— Patrick Lacy (@PatrickLacy1) November 24, 2019
Butler’s Take on his Role in Elvis
For Austin, the appeal of the Elvis Biopic was quite grand and he said that he was “fundamentally getting to explore the humanity of somebody who has become the wallpaper of society.” He agreed that these were going to be “huge shoes to fill,” he was able to go on a journey with Elvis, saying that he was cast when he was 26 and he’s 30 now.”
A Star Is Born ✨ Congrats to Austin Butler as he has been cast to play the legendary Elvis Presley in the new Baz Luhrmann biopic pic.twitter.com/BsUQe24ITo
— Joshua Chenault (@joshuachenault1) July 15, 2019
Butler further expressed how he prepped for the musical performances- When I began the process of this, I wanted to get my voice to sound identical to his.” Luhrmann even shared that all the young Elvis songs were all by Butler and when he gets old there is some material blending of Butler and Presley in the mix. Luhrmann said that “nostalgia-sounding.” “Replaying them would be a photocopy of a performance of a record.”
Butler even shared how he waited to be cast and said that “We had about six months before I was cast just to play. I watched as much as I could, over and over and over.”
Elvis Monday⚡️#ElvisMonday #Elvis #TCB #ElvisMovie @ElvisMovie pic.twitter.com/ikmGxYKTb7
— Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) April 26, 2022
Political Dimension of the Movie
The film looks to be more politically charged than anticipated as it explores the way Elvis interacted with the Black community and their unending struggle.
The first trailer for the Elvis Presley #TCB biopic is coming tomorrow, so I'm expecting a bunch of amateurs to falsely spew the long discredited "Elvis was racist" or "Elvis stole…" narrative.
The historical record is quite clear. He wasn't and he didn't.
Good thread 👇 https://t.co/kE2nuimOIQ
— Ryan Droste (@ryandroste) February 16, 2022
Luhrmann cited how “Elvis was referred to as The only white face on Beale Street, and how that cohabitation led to trouble later in life (a tension that will be dramatized in the film).” “He’s becoming a problem, with jumping the race line.”
After the film premieres at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 later this week, Elvis will hit the theatres on June 24 through Warner Bros.
