Wife of Elvis Presley’s Manager Colonel Tom Parker Reacts to Tom Hanks Playing Him in Upcoming Movie

In the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic, Tom Hanks will play the singer’s late manager, “Colonel” Tom Parker. Parker’s widow, Loanne, is excited about the casting, but told TMZ that she hopes the movie will not make her husband a villain.

Loanne Parker gave a video chat interview on Saturday, not long after Hanks’ casting was announced. She said that she believes Hanks is the perfect actor to play her late husband, and trusts him to do a faithful portrayal. However, she hopes that the movie itself will not paint “Colonel Tom” as a bad guy.

“If Tom Hanks takes on a role, he makes it a good fit,” Parker said. “He will be a good fit for The Colonel. I have trust in his ability.”

Parker feels that her husband’s legacy has been tainted in the media, and is hopeful that this version of the story will correct that. She sees Hanks’ casting as a good sign, feeling that he would not minimize her husband’s hard work. Still, she hopes that she will get a chance to talk to Hanks herself in advisement on the role.

“I would like to talk to him about the trust that was in that relationship, about the truth in the management, which was that Colonel never took advantage of Elvis,” she said. “Every story has a hero and a villain, and the past story have made Elvis the hero, and that leaves only The Colonel to be the villain. And both of them were heroes, each in their own right. They each made history in their own way. I would like to see that clarified. I would like to see the truth there.”

To tell that truth, Parker said she is putting her faith in Hanks, who has demonstrated incredible empathy and intuition over the course of his career, even when his characters could have been one-dimensional.

“I have great faith in Tom Hanks’ sincerity, and his integrity,” she said. “I just pray that he wouldn’t do anything less than the truth.”

Parker recalled the allegations against her husband in her own words, but said that they were totally false.

“There’s fictionalization out there that Colonel took more from Elvis than he should have. He never did,” she said. “Elvis was his only artist. He did everything for him. He did publicity, he did advertising, he did all of that. Financially, it was fair — it was very fair. They were partners.”

Parker briefly described the details of their financial arrangement, assuring reporters that her husband’s cut of the profits was fair. She did not address the old rumors that The Colonel prevented Elvis from taking profitable gigs overseas because he himself was in the U.S. illegally, and therefore could not travel with him.

Still, Parker seems to understand that it will have more to do with screenwriters Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce and director Baz Luhrmann as to how her husband is portrayed in the upcoming movie. So far, there is no title in place for the Elvis biopic. Hanks is the only confirmed cast member, but there is a shortlist of actors under consideration to play The King himself, including Ansel Elgort, Harry Styles and G-Eazy.

There is no release date for the movie just yet, but shooting is set to begin sometime next year.