Warner Bros. Pictures just released a new three-minute trailer for the musical epic, Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler in what’s likely to be a career-defining role. When the second official trailer debuted at the 2022 CinemaCon in Vegas, I tweeted, “Calling it now – #Elvis will catapult Austin Butler into superstar status. New footage is amazing! #Cinemacon2022”. Watching the new trailer confirms my first reaction was correct.
During a press conference prior to the release of the first Elvis trailer, Austin Butler described how being able to go to Nashville and record with amazing gospel singers was an incredible gift. He was able to learn about Elvis Presley’s influences and that helped him capture Elvis’s passion for gospel music.
“The first time we walked into this little chapel and set up all these period microphones and got to go in there with 30 of the most incredible gospel singers and they’re stamping their feet … I stood in the center and tears just poured down my face and I got chills down my spine,” said Butler. “It’s a glorious experience, that. And it’s hard not to have it in your marrow at that point. So, it was experiences like that along the way that really showed me how much gospel and spirituals influenced Elvis on a musical level, on a spiritual level, on the way that he moved, on the freedom of his body. It was really beautiful.”
Butler also spoke about the huge challenge of playing the rock and roll icon.
“It’s such an incredible responsibility. I feel not only a responsibility to Elvis and his life, and I feel a responsibility to Priscilla and Lisa Maria and his entire family, and all the people around the world that love him so dearly. I’ve used the analogy before but when I first started it really felt like when you’re a kid and you put on your father’s suit and the sleeves are much too long and the shoes are like boats on your feet. In the beginning, I thought, ‘This is impossible. How could I possibly do anything but feel like I’m less than this superhuman individual?’
And then as time passed, at least for me, I started to feel like I grew into it and suddenly I felt his humanity more. And so, we got incredibly meticulous with things. But Baz also directs in such a way that we tried so much. We had takes where it was just purely for getting every finger to be in the exact same way that he moved, and then some where we just threw it away and allowed just the visceral life to come out.”
In addition to Austin Butler in the title role, Elvis stars Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, Helen Thomson as Gladys Presley, and Richard Roxburgh as Vernon Presley. Luke Bracey plays Jerry Schilling, Natasha Bassett is Dixie Locke, and David Wenham is Hank Snow. The cast also includes Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King, Xavier Samuel as Scotty Moore, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
Elvis is a mix of Austin Butler singing as well as real Elvis Presley recordings. The soundtrack will also include Chris Isaak, Doja Cat, Eminem & Ceelo Green, Gary Clark Jr, Jack White, Kacey Musgraves, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Swae Lee & Diplo, and Stevie Nicks.
Warner Bros. Pictures will release Elvis in theaters on June 24, 2022.
Warner Bros released the following synopsis:
“This film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (DeJonge).”
