After months of speculation, Baz Luhrmann has cast the role of Elvis Presley in a forthcoming biopic about the music icon.
As Deadline reports, US actor Austin Butler (Yoga Hosers, Dude) has been cast in the lead role and beat out a string of big names including Harry Styles, Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort for the role.
Butler will next appear in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in the role of Charles "Tex" Watson.
Shooting is expected to commence in Queensland early next year with Warner Bros Pictures to distribute the film globally.
“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.
"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.”
Deadline says the as-yet-untitled film will follow "the seminal legend’s growth from dirt poor singer to global icon, seen through the prism of his complex relationship over two decades with manager Colonel Tom Parker", to be played by US actor and film legend Tom Hanks.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in May that "[the film] is expected to inject more than $105 million into the local economy.
"It doesn't just offer work for Queenslanders — it offers opportunities for actors from other parts of the world to come and visit Queensland."
The Presley film will be Luhrmann's first directorial feature since 2013's The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo Dicaprio, which was filmed in Sydney and went on to win a number of Academy, BAFTA and AACTA awards.
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