Following the success of Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, the man behind Moulin Rouge is directing a biopic of Elvis Presley. And while Tom Hanks is signed up to play The King’s manager Colonel Tom Parker, just who could play Elvis himself? Well, Baz Luhrmann has previously said he wants to cast an unknown but the five lads in the running are far from that. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Miles Teller, Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort and Austin Butler have all tested at Warner Bros for the part.
So just what are these five young men best known for?
Well, Aaron Taylor-Johnson played Kick-Ass and Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but has notably portrayed John Lennon in Nowhere Boy.
Next up is Miles Teller who’s starred in Whiplash, War Dogs, the 2015 Fantastic Four flop and is set to feature in Top Gun 2 next year.
Then there’s One Direction star Harry Styles who made his professional acting debut in 2017’s Dunkirk.
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Austin Butler, best known for The Shannara Chronicles TV show, is also in the running and will next be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Last, but not least, is Ansel Elgort who played the titular role in Baby Driver and is currently shooting Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake.
Meanwhile, Colonel Tom Parker star Tom Hanks has given an update on the upcoming Elvis biopic.
Speaking on Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review, the 62-year-old revealed filming is due to begin in 2020.
Hanks said: “That’s a ways away. That’ll be sometime next year.”
Meanwhile, Hanks has been preparing to play Colonel Parker by reading a two-volume biography of Elvis. Specifically Peter Guralnick’s Last Train to Memphis and its second volume Careless Love.
Hanks said: “I’ve read both of those and… Let me just go back a little bit, my make-up man, Danny Striepeke – who did my make-up, for I think, 17 films – had done Elvis on, among others, Viva Las Vegas… and Harum Sacrum and Kissing’ Cousins. So he had made some really lousy Elvis movies.
“He told me stories about both Elvis and also Colonel Parker. So I was a little bit hip to what that union was… that odd kinda like…Mephistophelian bargain…”