Fresh from his power-mongering role on Netflix’s political drama House of Cards, Kevin Spacey has reportedly signed on to star in historical drama Elvis & Nixon as the titular president, while Man of Steel’s Michael Shannon is on board to play the King of Rock and Roll.
With Liza Johnson in the director’s chair, the film will recreate the famous meeting between the pair, which originally occurred on December 21st, 1970. On that date, the Mississippian music legend showed up at the White House and requested a meeting with the POTUS in the Oval Office — such was the appeal of Mr. Presley in the early 70s that he even requested to be an undercover federal agent.
Either way, at this stage, only Shannon and Spacey have filled the lead roles, subsequently replacing Eric Bana and Danny Houston, who were on board for the project before it was repackaged. Now, sharp-suited and rebooted, Elvis & Nixon looks to be moving forward.
Cassian Elwes, producer of last year’s Academy Award winning drama, Dallas Buyers Club, is attached to produce the project along Holly Wiersma, and the former spoke of his excitement to work with the aforementioned acting duo.
“After the enormous success of The Butler, I have a deep affection for films set in the White House as does the public,” Cassian Elwes said in a statement to EW. “To work with Shannon and Spacey on this movie at the height of their careers is a dream come true.”
Elvis & Nixon has undoubtedly hit the ground running in terms of casting, but the historical drama is still without a release date. So, until it does, you can share your thoughts about Spacey and Shannon’s latest outing in the comments.
