Austin Butler was seen wearing all black during a coffee run in Los Angeles on Monday, July 22, looking like he could start filming Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic at any moment. The former Nickelodeon star was cast in the role earlier this month, after he beat out Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller and Harry Styles for the role. Although not nearly as famous as those three, Butler looks like he is ready to play The King.
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On Monday, TMZ published new photos of Butler going about his day behind shares in the Los Angeles sun.
Luhrmanna and Warner Bros. announced Butler, 27, would play Presley in his new movie about Presley’s relationship with manager Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. It will be a break-out role for Butler, who can now be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in a supporting role.
Butler’s other credits include Ruby & The Rickits, Zoey 101, Life Unexpected, Switched at Birth, The Shannara Chronicles, Arrow and The Carrie Diaries. He also earned critical praise for his Broadway debut in a 2018 production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh.
“I knew I couldn’t make this film if the casting wasn’t absolutely right, and we searched thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist,” Luhrmann said in a statement.
The Moulin Rouge! filmmaker continued, “Throughout the casting process, it was an honor for me to encounter such a vast array of talent. I had heard about Austin Butler from his stand-out role opposite Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh on Broadway, and through a journey of extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops, I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world’s most iconic musical figures.”
Luhrmann will direct the film and co-write with Craig Pearce. The film, Luhrmann’s first since 2013’s The Great Gatsby, will be filmed in Australia and released by Warner Bros.
During an interview with Variety at the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiere, Butler said he plans to do his own singing.
“I am just profoundly honored that Baz has invited me on this journey with him,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s an extraordinary privilege. And I just feel so blessed to be working with such singular directors like him and Quentin Tarantino.”
The film is still untitled and does not have a release date.
Photo credit: David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
