Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor Austin Butler to play Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic

New York: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic has found its King.

After a competitive casting contest, 27-year-old actor Austin Butler has been cast as Presley. Ansel Elgort, Harry Styles and Miles Teller all reportedly tested for the role ultimately won by Butler, who last year appeared in the Denzel Washington Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh.

Luhrmann announced the news on Twitter

Elvis A. Presley / Austin Butler pic.twitter.com/Rtl1P4nv9o

— Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) July 15, 2019

Luhrmann says in a statement that 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.”

Production is to begin early next year on the Luhrmann-directed film. Tom Hanks co-stars as Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Butler also has a role in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood .

Lurhmann has also written the script with Craig Pearce. He is producing the film alongside his wife Catherine Martin.  The Wrap  writes that the project has been in the works since Luhrmann concluded his 2013 adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gail Berman is attached as a producer via Tecumseh Productions.

(With inputs from The Associated Press)