Remember when One Directioners got super excited with the new that Harry Styles was the front runner to play Elvis Prestley in Baz Luhrmann‘s new biopic? Well, he and Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller lost out to Arrow star Austin Butler, who is all set to play the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’.
The yet-to-be-named film will look at Prestley’s rags to riches story and explore his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker who will be played by Tom Hanks.
“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,” Luhrmann said in a statement.
Elvis A. Presley / Austin Butler pic.twitter.com/Rtl1P4nv9o
— Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) July 15, 2019
“Throughout the casting process, it was an honor for me to encounter such a vast array of talent. 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.”
27-year-old Butler first got his start in Hollywood as “Toby” in the Hannah Montana show in 2006. He stars in the new Quentin Tarantino movie One upon a time in Hollywood alongside Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie.
In the recent years, music icon biopics have seen an uptick in the Hollywood film industry with many going on to win critical aclaim. Rami Malek won an Oscar for his role in Bohemian Rhapsody about Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Richard Madden were praised by critics for their role in Rocketman, the Elton John musical and studios have earmarked Aretha Franklin and Boy George biopics next.
