The first trailer for Elvis, starring Austin Butler as the titular music legend and Tom Hanks as the manager who helped make him what he became, has landed.
Through the toe-tapping and enveloping trailer, we get a look at Elvis Presley in various points of his lustrous and exciting life and his rise to stardom. The hips, the lip, and that voice — Elvis was the total package. Butler captures his swoonworthy essence perfectly, and judging from the trailer, director Baz Luhrmann has infused his own brand of eye-candy onto the legend’s rise to fame.
The synopsis for the film was kept under wraps until now. However, along with the trailer’s debut, we now know the storyline we’ll be treated to in Elvis.
“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).“
Luhrmann has been sharing his own excitement for the upcoming film leading up to the trailer release, notably this sneak peek via Instagram on Tuesday.
As far back as November, Butler was doing his own hyping via Instagram, posting the TCB logo in gold. (TCB, which stands for Taking Care of Business, was Presley’s motto and became part of his brand and legacy.)
We also got our first glimpses of DeJonge, who portrays Priscilla Presley (Elvis’ wife) and Luke Bracey as Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling, as well of plenty of Hanks as the imperious Parker.
Butler, who shared the trailer to his Instagram account shortly after it debuted on YouTube, is charming and handsome in his own right — and his bringing Elvis to life could very well be the experience of a lifetime, in a role that should appeal to multiple generations of audiences.
You can see Elvis in theaters on June 24, which — if the movie turns out to be as good as the trailer is — will undoubtedly leave you “all shook up.”