The King of Rock and Roll is alive – and he’s a spy? Netflix announced on Friday that it has ordered a full season of Agent King, an adult animated comedy wherein the late Elvis Presley “trades in his white jumpsuit for a jet pack when he is covertly inducted into a secret government spy program to help battle the dark forces that threaten the country he loves,” according to the official logline.
Archer veteran Mike Arnold will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer for the new series, which was co-created by Priscilla Presley and John Eddie. Jamie Salter (Elvis Presley: The Searcher) will also executive-produce, while Cory Slater (NBC’s Elvis All-Star Tribute) and Marc Rosen (Sense8) will serve as co-executive producers. Legendary designer John Varatos will design Elvis’ animated wardrobe.
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“From the time Elvis was a young boy he always dreamed of being the superhero fighting crime and saving the world! Agent King lets him do just that,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement, according to Variety. “My co-creator John Eddie and I are so excited to be working with Netflix and Sony Animation on this amazing project and getting the chance to show the world an Elvis they haven’t seen before.”
The announcement comes at the tail end of Elvis Week, a Graceland celebration of Elvis’ music, movies and legacy. Friday is also the 42nd birthday of his death.
Earlier this month, the highly anticipated Elvis biopic from Baz Luhrmann received an official premiere date of Oct. 1, 2021. In the so-far untitled film, Austin Butler will star as the King of Rock and Roll and Tom Hanks will star as Colonel Tom Parker. It will cover the relationship between Presley and Parker and will Luhrmann’s first film since The Great Gatsby adaptation.
Part of the reason for the delay in release date is to accommodate Hanks’ busy 2020 schedule, as he’s already committed to an untitled Hasbro event film set to release in 2021.
At the premiere for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in which Butler plays Manson family killer Tex Watson, he revealed his gratitude and excitement for the chance to play Elvis.
“I am just profoundly honored that Baz has invited me on this journey with him. It’s an extraordinary privilege,” Butler told Entertainment Tonight, also mentioning the “many, many hours of hard work” he had undertaken to perfectly capture the music icon.
“At this point, I love them all (Presley’s songs) so much. I’m at those beginning stages of the exploration. Practicing everything,” the actor told Variety.
Photo credit: Netflix
