Get ready to see the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll on the big screen! Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks comes to U.S. theaters on June 24.
Here is everything we know so far. We’ll keep updating this page as more information comes in.
Elvis movie synopsis
As the title implies, Elvis explores the life and music of Elvis Presley as played by emerging star Austin Butler (known for The Carrie Diaries and Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood). Moviegoers will get to experience Elvis from the perspective of his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (played by Oscar winner Tom Hanks). You’ll get to follow their complex relationship that spans over 20 years, from the rock and roll star’s rise to fame all the way up to his tragic death.
If you loved the spectacle of Moulin Rouge or The Great Gatsby, you’ll love Elvis
Get ready for a true spectacle. The legendary Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann is also known for two star-studded movies: The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge. The Elvis movie costume designer Catherine Martin worked with Baz on The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge. Plus, production designer Karen Murphy worked on A Star Is Born!
Elvis movie cast
Who else will you see in the Elvis movie? A mix of new and familiar names:
- Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley
- Helen Thomson as Elvis’s mother, Gladys
- Richard Roxburgh as Elvis’s father, Vernon
- Luke Bracey as Jerry Schilling
- Natasha Bassett as Dixie Locke
- David Wenham as Hank Snow
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King
- Xavier Samuel as Scotty Moore
- Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers Snow
You’ll also see a few modern-day artists performing as iconic musicians from the time: singer/songwriter Yola plays Sister Rosetta Tharpe, musical artist Gary Clark Jr. plays the iconic Arthur Crudup, artist Shonka Dukureh performs as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, and model Alton Mason performs as Little Richard.
Elvis movie trailer
Elvis movie stills
We are DROOLING over these Elvis movie stills.
If you think these stills are great, just imagine them on a much bigger screen!
The Elvis reviews are in and everyone has an opinion
Reviews are starting to trickle in, especially after the Cannes screening that resulted in a 12-minute standing ovation.
“For a filmmaker sometimes criticized for skimming the surface, Luhrmann uses the material to go as deep as he does wide,” says Entertainment Weekly’s Joshua Rothkopf. The review touches on how the movie makes sharp points about the rock and roll star’s appropriations of the work of Black blues musicians that ended up fueling his success in the mainstream.
Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson says “it’s a film about a legend that keeps him just that: an idea, thrashing away at a distance.”
The Indie Wire’s David Ehrlich describes it as an “utterly deranged” and “maddening jukebox musical,” saying the movie “is so adoring of its style and so disinterested in its subject that ‘Baz’ would have been a more fitting title for it.”
The Daily Beast’s Caspar Salmon describes the Elvis movie as “such a gaudy, buzzing, relentless object, which for 2.5 hours lurches about flashing its gold like a drunk old millionaire in a strip joint. The overall effect produced by so much frenetic vulgarity, so many shiny effects, is one of utter exhaustion.”
Variety’s Owen Gleiberman says it’s a “fizzy, delirious, impishly energized, compulsively watchable 2-hour-and-39-minute fever dream — a spangly pinwheel of a movie that converts the Elvis saga we all carry around in our heads into a lavishly staged biopic-as-pop-opera.”
On the other hand, LA Times film critic Justin Chang offers a different perspective, saying “to complain that Elvis is basically a compilation of musical-biopic conventions is a bit like complaining about a greatest-hits album; it also misses one of Luhrmann’s strengths as a filmmaker, which is his ability to suffuse clichés with sincerity, energy and feeling.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney says the film “dazzles,” getting many things right about the essence of Elvis:
“As for the big question of whether Butler could pull off impersonating one of the most indelible icons in American pop-culture history, the answer is an unqualified yes.”
TLDR: how you feel about a movie is subjective and based on your own life and experiences. You need to see this movie in theaters to figure out if it’s your thing.
What people are saying about Elvis
One thing we’ve learned is it doesn’t matter what critics say, people are going to watch a movie either way. Here’s what people are saying about Elvis leading up to its June 24 national release date.
Every awful ELVIS review gives me more power. I am going to get high and watch the hell out of that movie and clap every time Tom Hanks shows up with his fake double-chin.
— Chris Evangelista (@cevangelista413) May 26, 2022
When Baz Luhrmann’s fucked up Elvis movie comes out I am going to see it at the 34th St. AMC with the biggest glass of wine the theater bar will sell me and I’m going to let that movie Change me
— Simone de Rochefort (@doomquasar) May 26, 2022
Fairy neutral on Baz but I’m gonna have to see that goofball Elvis movie
— Mr. Chau (@Srirachachau) May 25, 2022
So there’s a new Elvis movie coming out. Not only is it about Elvis, my favorite actor @tomhanks is in it as Colonel Parker. It’s a win for me 😊
— lisa 🖤💛✌🏻😇 (@crliss21) May 29, 2022
Check out our review of Elvis
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