'Agent Elvis' Netflix Show Poster Tees up Strange New Series

By Daniel S. Levine

Netflix marked Elvis Presley's birthday by reminding fans that the animated series featuring the King of Rock and Roll as a spy is still happening. However, the show has a new title. It was originally announced as Agent King in August 2019 but is now known as Agent Elvis in case Netflix thought subscribers would not be sure which King they are referring to.

The new poster features an illustration of Elvis with sunglasses, carrying a gold handgun. The new title is also emblazoned on the poster. No release date was announced, as Netflix went with just "coming soon" on the poster.

Agent Elvis was created by Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, and John Eddie. When Priscilla announced the show, she said it was inspired by Presley's childhood fantasy of becoming a superhero and saving the world. Mike Arnold (Archer) was hired to serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. The series is a Sony Pictures Animation production and features new costumes designed by John Varvatos. Jamie Slater, Cory Slater, and Marc Rosen serve as executive producers.

The project was thought dead at one point, since fans did not hear any updates until Elvis Week in August 2021. At the time, Priscilla assured fans it was still in production and would be released in 2022. During her Q&A session at Graceland, Priscilla said she had to reel in the writers who were leaning into the "adult" aspect of adult animation too much for her liking.

"It's an adult animation. Sometimes a script comes in and I say, 'Elvis would never say that,'" Priscilla said in August 2021. "It's those little things... I have to give slack on some areas and be really protective on others. I'm constantly having them do redo things." She went on to say that the show will give Presley "what he always wanted: to be a secret agent."

The next update on the project came in June 2022 during Sony Pictures Animation's presentation at the Annecy Festival. During that event, the studio showed off a new image of Presley as depicted in the show. "Color correction for Agent King was also time intensive," the studio noted in a tweet. "Artists pulled directly from movie frame references to achieve a look that was both contemporary and vintage. Combining bold, graphic shapes with a hazy '70s filter struck the right visual balance." Sony also showed a sizzle reel at the event, but that has never been released publicly.

While Presley fans wait to see the King as a spy, they can check out Baz Luhrmann's epic biopic Elvis, featuring Austin Butler in the title role. The movie is now streaming on HBO Max. Just a Boy from Tupelo: Bringing Elvis to the Big Screen, a 30-minute special about the film, was released on HBO Max Sunday.

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