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Tom Hanks is in negotiations to play Elvis Presley’s iconic manager Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Warner Bros. biopic about the legendary musician.

Luhrmann will direct the movie.

Parker discovered Presley when he was just an unknown and quickly moved in as his lone representation. Parker was responsible for various milestones, including Presley’s record deal with RCA and his successful acting career.

While Luhrmann always envisioned a star for Parker’s part, he wants a newcomer for the role of Presley. The director has begun meeting with talent for the part.

Insiders say a budget is still being ironed out, but Hanks’ commitment will urge the studio to push the project forward. Luhrmann hopes to get the pic into production sometime this year.

Hanks is no stranger to portraying real-life figures like astronaut Jim Lovell in “Apollo 13,” Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in “The Post,” airline captain Chesley Sullenberger in “Sully,” Captain Richard Phillips in “Captain Phillips,” Walt Disney in “Saving Mr. Banks,” and Mister Rogers in Sony’s upcoming biopic “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” Besides the Mister Rogers movie, Hanks can next be seen in the World War II drama “Greyhound” and as Woody in “Toy Story 4.”

He is repped by CAA.

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EXCLUSIVE: Baz Luhrmann is testing a top group of young actors for the role of Elvis Presley in his Warner Bros film about the legendary singer and his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Luhrmann filmed a group of actors last weekend, and will make a decision by next week. Tom Hanks is already set to play Presley’s manager, Parker.

The top names we hear, and all of them can sing and showed their hip swivel and sneer to Luhrmann, who has a tough choice.

The top contenders: Ansel Elgort, The Fault in Our Stars and Baby Driver star; Miles Teller, who’s about to be seen in Top Gun: Maverick, and who nearly got the lead role in La La Land after starring in such films as Whiplash; Austin Butler, who is about to be seen in a breakout turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood after playing in the cast of Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die.

Last but not least and just as intriguing: Harry Styles, the former One Direction leader singer who broke into movie acting with Dunkirk and Love, Simon.

This is going to be a big job, so stay tuned. Luhrmann wrote the script with Craig Pearce, and it covers the relationship between the veteran manager and the young singer, who came from dirt poor origins to become an iconic star who changed the course of music. Parker was reputed to have taken half of Presley’s earnings for himself, in exchange for building him.

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EXCLUSIVE: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley movie at Warner Bros. has cast Australian actress Olivia DeJonge in the role of his wife Priscilla Presley.

Priscilla Ann Presley nee Wagner, was originally born in Brooklyn, NY. She was married to Presley from 1967 to 1973 and was the chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), the company that turned the King of Rock n’ Roll’s mansion, Graceland, into one of the top tourist attractions in the United States. Priscilla met Elvis during his army career in 1959 where he became smitten with her despite the fact that she was 14 and he 24. They had a seven-and-half year courtship. She lived with Elvis as early as 1963 at Graceland with the King promising Priscilla’s parents that he’d marry her. At one point when rumors broke about Elvis’ affairs, Priscilla’s father threatened to have Elvis charged under the Mann Act which entailed “taking a minor across state lines for sexual purposes”. Lisa Marie was their only daughter, and the couple divorced in 1972.

Luhrmann, who is known to have a keen eye for discovering new faces, stated, “Olivia is capable of manifesting the complex depth and presence that has made Priscilla Presley an icon in her own right. She’s an extremely talented young actor and the perfect counterpoint to Austin’s Elvis.”

The untitled drama covers the seminal legend’s growth from dirt poor singer to global icon, seen through the prism of his complex relationship over two decades with manager Colonel Tom Parker. The film will shoot early next year in Queensland, Australia. The story will delve into their complex dynamic 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 joins Austin Butler, who is playing the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Tom Hanks as Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker.

DeJonge has worked consistently in her native Australia and is known for her performances in such movies as M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, The Sisterhood of the Night, Better Watch Out, and this year’s Stray Dolls, which premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film Festival. On television, she starred in the Netflix series The Society as Elle Tomkins, TNT’s Will and Hiding.

Luhrmann wrote the screenplay with Craig Pearce. Luhrmann will also produce, alongside multiple-Oscar winner Catherine Martin (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!), who will once again serve as production designer and costume designer on the film, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Andrew Mittman will executive produce.

Production will have the support of the Queensland Government, Screen Queensland and the Australian Government’s Producer Offset program.

DeJonge is repped by CAA, KTM Artist Group and Independent Management Company.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal will play Gladys Presley, the King of Rock and Roll’s mother, in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.”

The Warner Bros. film stars Austin Butler in the title role and Tom Hanks as Elvis Presley’s manger, Colonel Tom Parker.

Luhrmann co-wrote the script with Craig Pearce. The movie revolves around the veteran manager and the young singer, who came from dirt-poor origins to become an icon who changed the course of music history. The project marks Luhrmann’s first film since his 2013 adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He most recently worked on the Netflix series “The Get Down.” Production is expected to start this spring

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EXCLUSIVE: Kelvin Harrison Jr. has landed a supporting role in the upcoming Elvis film from director Baz Luhrmann and Warner Bros. The pic resumed shooting back in September after star Tom Hanks came down with COVID-19 in March, prompting a six-month production shutdown.

Austin Butler has been tapped to star as King of Rock and Roll, while Hanks is playing Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom. Harrison Jr., most recently seen in The Photograph, The High Note, and Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, will play legendary blues musician B.B. King a.k.a The King of the Blues.

Written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, the film delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and the enigmatic 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 (Olivia DeJonge).

Luhrmann is producing the film with Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick, and Schuyler Weiss. Andrew Mittman serves as executive producer.

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From Oscar-nominated visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “Elvis,” starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

The 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 (Olivia DeJonge).

Starring alongside Hanks and Butler, award-winning theatre actress Helen Thomson (“Top of the Lake: China Girl,” “Rake”) plays Elvis’s mother, Gladys, Richard Roxburgh (“Moulin Rouge!” “Breath,” “Hacksaw Ridge”) portrays Elvis’s father, Vernon, and DeJonge (“The Visit,” “Stray Dolls”) plays Priscilla. Luke Bracey (“Hacksaw Ridge,” “Point Break”) plays Jerry Schilling, Natasha Bassett (“Hail, Caesar!”) plays Dixie Locke, David Wenham (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “Lion,” “300”) plays Hank Snow, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The High Note”) plays B.B. King, Xavier Samuel (“Adore,” “Love & Friendship,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”) plays Scotty Moore, and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) plays Jimmie Rodgers Snow.

Also in the cast, Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things,” “The Broken Heart Gallery”) plays TV director Steve Binder, alongside Australian actors Leon Ford (“Gallipoli,” “The Pacific”) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (“The Great Gatsby,” “Hunters”) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (“Peter Rabbit,” “Hunters”) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Camp”) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (“Fantasy Island”) as Sam Phillips, and Adam Dunn (“Home and Away”) as 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.

Oscar nominee Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) directed from a screenplay by Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, story by Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Courtenay Valenti and Kevin McCormick executive produced.

The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Mandy Walker (“Mulan,” “Australia”), Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), production designer Karen Murphy (“A Star Is Born”), editors Matt Villa (“The Great Gatsby,” “Australia”) and Jonathan Redmond (“The Great Gatsby”), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Thomas Wood (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), music supervisor Anton Monsted (“Australia,” “Moulin Rouge!”) and composer Elliott Wheeler (“The Get Down”).

Principal photography on “Elvis” took place in Queensland, Australia with the support of the Queensland Government, Screen Queensland and the Australian Government’s Producer Offset program.
A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, A Bazmark Production, A Jackal Group Production, A Baz Luhrmann Film, “Elvis” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set to release in theaters in North America on June 24, 2022, and internationally beginning 22 June 2022.

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