Watch Teaser Trailer for Upcoming ‘Elvis’ Movie
Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann shared a new teaser trailer for the upcoming biopic Elvis, which stars Tom Hanks as Elvis Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker.
"Just gotta be making the most of this thing while I can," we hear in the 15-second clip, which Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge) tweeted Monday. "This could all be over in a flash." The video, available to view below, precedes a full trailer out Thursday.
Plot details for Elvis, which hits theaters on June 24, have been closely guarded since the project's announcement in 2019. And it's apparent that many of the specifics are still under wraps: The teaser mostly features the King's back, with just enough hip-swiveling and leg-shaking to make the character clear.
In his tweet, Luhrmann used the #TCB hashtag, a reference to the Presley band name and the singer's motto, "Taking Care of Business."
Col. Parker played a large role in Presley’s rise to fame. Though he was never involved in choosing the songs Presley performed, he did start handling bookings and promotion early in Presley's career before becoming his manager. Parker also secured Presley’s record deal with RCA and later helped him transition to Hollywood. Other real-life characters played by Hanks include Jim Lovell in Apollo 13, airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger in Sully, and Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
Austin Butler, who appeared in the 2019 movies The Dead Don’t Die and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is playing the role of Elvis. Luhrmann said in a statement, “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.” Like Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, Butler is a lesser-known actor (at least for now) portraying a legendary musician.
The filming of Elvis hasn't been without challenges. Production was shut down in March 2020 after Hanks contracted COVID-19 while in Australia, where the movie was being filmed. The actor and his wife, Rita Wilson, were among the first entertainers to reveal a positive diagnosis when the pandemic first hit, and the two quarantined for two weeks in Australia before returning to the U.S. The pandemic delayed work on the movie for six months, and Hanks was able to return to Australia and resume filming in September 2020.