After the pandemic caused a great mess for the entire crew – filming was first interrupted, and the originally scheduled premiere deadline was missed – the musical is finally ready to be the film of the summer, hitting theaters on 24th June 2022 and then making its way to HBOMax 45 days later.
It’s been almost a decade since the last opulent theatrical period drama from Baz Luhrmann, the director who gave us cult classics like Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001). Over the last eight years and after the incredible success of The Great Gatsby (2013), this movie has been his main focus. While the role of the titular king of rock ‘n’ roll music was tied to names such as Harry Styles and Ansel Elgort, the part eventually went to Austin Butler. You might recognize him from his many appearances in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows in the 00s such as Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and Zoey 101. More recently, he’s been in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and the Sex and The City prequel series The Carrie Diaries. Playing his ever-stylish lover Priscilla Presley is Olivia DeJonge, whose previous acting credits include playing one of the kids in that creepy grandparent horror The Visit (2015) and Christmas slasher Better Watch Out (2016).
Along with Priscilla, the central figure is the famous ‘Colonel’ Parker, the musician’s manager, played by Tom Hanks, who doesn’t need further introduction. Much of the movie’s exact plot and timeline has been kept under wraps. What we do know is that it will follow roughly 20 years of Elvis’ life and will focus on his friendship with his manager. With that in mind, we can assume the film will date from the mid-50s, when Elvis was first signed, up until his death in the late 70s. Helping Baz to pen the script are his frequent collaborators, co-writers Craig Pearce and Sam Bromell as well as Jeremy Doner, known for producing Netflix’s The Killing.
The importance of this movie doesn’t need much explanation. For most people, Elvis Presley literally was rock‐and‐roll. And they were right. Elvis was the one who defined the style and gave it an indelible image. The songs were tough and driving in a time, 20 years ago, when American popular music was still based on Tin Pan Alley tune‐smiting. And the image was of a working‐class rebel, pushing sex into the nation’s consciousness, long before the “sexual revolution.” With his ominous, greasy, swirling locks, his leather jacket and his aggressive fluctuations, Elvis was a performer whom parents detested, young women adored and young men instantly imitated. Early rock‐and‐roll derived from a blend of white rockabilly and black rhythm‐and‐blues. Elvis was not an ignorant country boy who stumbled into the style or who followed the orders of wiser mentors, but a trendsetter and innovator with an eminent impact on the world.
