The First Trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley Biopic Is Here

Nearly a decade after rumors of an Elvis Presley biopic first began floating around Hollywood, Baz Luhrmann’s movie will finally hit theaters on June 24, 2022. The Australian director confirmed the release date in November—and dropped the film’s first full trailer on February 17. 

A recap of what to expect from the drama:

Austin Butler beat out some truly starry names to play the King of Rock ’n’ Roll

If you recognize Austin Butler, it’s most likely from Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood, where he had a bit part as the Manson family’s Tex Watson, making his casting in Luhrmann’s much-hyped biopic even more notable. According to reports, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, and Harry Styles (possibly the greatest actor of our time), all gyrated their hips in auditions for the role before the Oscar-winning director settled on Butler. The part of Priscilla is also being taken on by a Hollywood newcomer: the Australian actress Olivia DeJonge.

Elvis’s relationship with his longtime manager Colonel Tom Parker will take precedence over his marriage

Tom Hanks will appear as Elvis’s manager, a former carnival worker who launched the King’s career in the mid-’50s by negotiating a contract for him at RCA—ultimately staying with Elvis until his death in 1977. From the release of Elvis’s first hit single, “Heartbreak Hotel,” onward, Parker had a vice-like grip over the musician—taking a significant cut of his royalties and influencing every one of his professional decisions (including his much-derided post-war transition to Hollywood) as well as his personal ones (not least his marriage to Priscilla, which Parker realized would drum up publicity).

The plot will be wide-ranging—and offer a portrait of the spectacular mid-century American music scene

Much like Walk the Line did for Elvis’s contemporary Johnny Cash, Luhrmann’s biopic is expected to trace the King’s life from his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi, through to his death on his Graceland estate. (Australian actor Chaydon Jay will appear as Elvis as a boy.) Luhrmann will reportedly use the “Shake, Rattle & Roll” singer’s career to trace the “evolving cultural landscape” and the “loss of innocence” in America over the course of his 21 years in the spotlight, with cameos from plenty of other musicians, including B. B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Little Richard (Alton Mason).