Baz Luhrmann Shares Trailer To New Movie Elvis

Baz Luhrmann’s first trailer to his highly anticipated film, Elvis, has arrived. The film stars Austin Butler as the famed King of Rock and Roll, and Tom Hanks as Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Baz Luhrmann shared the trailer to Elvis on Thursday, February 17, and it is safe to say that fans can’t help falling in love with Butler’s portrayal of the one and only Elvis Presley. Butler candidly spoke about portraying the legendary singer, who tragically died in 1977 at just 42. He reveals, “When I began the process, I set out to get my voice to be identical. That instills fear. So that got the fire burning. For a year before we started shooting, I was doing voice coaching.”

Austin Butler as Elvis pic.twitter.com/yg2Sljr4Tj

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) February 17, 2022

The process of embodying Presley is no easy task. In order to prepare for such a role, Butler intensely studied Presley’s concerts and film footage. Despite the immense responsibility of portraying Presley in an authentic way, Butler also revealed the joys of playing such an important figure in both music and history. He revealed, “He’s such an icon and held up to superhuman status, so to get to explore that for years now and learn why he was the way that he was and find the human within that icon, that was such a joy. I could do it for the rest of my life.” He also adds, “I feel such a responsibility to Elvis and to [ex-wife] Priscilla and [daughter] Lisa Marie, and all the people around the world who love him so much.”

Elvis and Priscilla Presley with Lisa Marie. pic.twitter.com/GC1LiZpqVe

— Classic Rock In Pics (@crockpics) January 20, 2022

The film itself took two years to make due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom Hanks, who will be portraying the infamous Colonel Tom Parker, made headlines in March 2020 for being one of the first major celebrities, along with his wife Rita Wilson, to test positive for COVID-19.

Luhrmann, the film’s director, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his approach to telling Presley’s story on-screen. He reveals, “The great storytellers, like Shakespeare, they didn’t really do biographies. What they did was take a life and use a life as a canvas to explore a bigger idea. The life of Elvis could not be a better canvas in which to explore America in the ’50s and ’60s. That life is culturally and socially at the center of the ’50s, ’60s, and even the ’70s.”

Fans will see in the trailer Presley’s early days in Tennessee, his superstardom, and comeback special. Luhrmann’s film also explores historic tragedies during the Civil Rights Movement, such as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Despite the title being called Elvis, the story also centers around Hanks’ character. Hanks narrates throughout the trailer, and in one moment his character says to Presley, “We are two odd, lonely children reaching for eternity.”

First look at Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann’s #Elvis pic.twitter.com/jLpv3rz8WA

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 17, 2022

The film also stars Helen Thomson as Elvis’ mother, Gladys, and Richard Roxburgh as his father, Vernon. Olivia DeJonge is playing his ex-wife, Priscilla. Other supporting cast includes Luke Bracey (Jerry Schilling), Natasha Bassett (Dixie Locke), David Wenham (Hank Snow), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (B.B. King), Xavier Samuel (Scotty Moore), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Jimmie Rodgers Snow), Dacre Montgomery (TV director Steve Binder), Leon Ford (Tom Diskin), Kate Mulvany (Marion Keisker), Gareth Davies (Bones Howe), Charles Grounds (Billy Smith), Josh McConville (Sam Phillips), and Adam Dunn (Bill Black).

To play additional iconic musical artists in the film, Luhrmann cast singer/songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, model Alton Mason as Little Richard, Austin, Texas native Gary Clark Jr. as Arthur Crudup, and artist Shonka Dukureh as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton.

Without further ado, it’s time to TCB⚡️ so here’s the trailer made with TLC❤️

Oh, and ONLY IN THEATERS, June 24.@AustinButler and @TomHanks star in @ElvisMovie… See you at the movies! #ElvisMovie #TCB pic.twitter.com/sdVUXTRZTP

— Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) February 17, 2022

We cannot be more excited to watch Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. The film will only be playing in theaters on June 24. Fans can get all shook up by watching the trailer above.