A laundry list of young actors presents itself as Baz Luhrmann is actively casting for the role of Elvis Presley in an upcoming biopic about the iconic singer and his relationship with manager Colonel Tom Parker. According to Deadline, Luhrmann’s film will be distributed by Warner Bros. with a group of actors tested for the role and Tom Hanks currently on board to star as Tom Parker.
The contenders for the film’s shortlist include Ansel Elgort of The Fault In Our Stars and Baby Driver fame, Whiplash star Miles Teller, a virtual unknown named Austin Butler who will star in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood this month, and former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles who got his breakout role in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
Other than the extensive cast search for the role of Elvis and confirmation of Tom Hanks’ involvement, very few details about this film remain public. Luhrmann wrote the film’s script alongside Craig Pearce, which covers the dynamic between the elderly manager and the Memphis icon who forever altered the landscape of modern music. The film will explore the poverty origins of Presley and his dramatic rise to prevalence in Tennessee as one of its most renowned musical figures.