Remember Priscilla Presley in Elvis? No? Don’t blame you. Olivia DeJonge was great, don’t get us wrong, but there wasn’t much room for her in the film’s two-and-a-half hours, and there was a lot of other stuff going on. Baz Luhrmann’s neon rollercoaster through Vegas! Austin Butler’s wiggling hips! Tom Hanks’ accent! Overwhelming. Now, though, the first trailer for Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla promises to tell the other side of the story which Luhrmann cartwheeled through in Elvis. Priscilla is based on Priscilla’s autobiography Elvis & Me, and will track her life – from leaving home to live with Elvis in his giganto-mansion Graceland, through their life together. Watch the teaser:
As per its title, the Priscilla teaser focuses primarily on the woman herself, with a few quick flashes of Elvis in the mix. “Priscilla, what about boys at school?” asks her mother, played by Dagmara Domińczyk – aka Succession’s PR maven Karolina. “Must be some handsome ones.” Expect a response along the lines of, “Mum, I’m trying to get with Elvis. Please!” In the title role is Cailee Spaeny – finally taking centre stage after putting in impressive performances in the likes of Devs, Bad Times At The El Royale, and Mare Of Easttown. And though Austin Butler won’t be reprising his turn as The King – probably for the best, given how long it took him to find his own accent again – he’ll instead be taken on by Jacob Elordi from Euphoria.
As for Coppola, she’s teased the film as a tonal return to Marie Antoinette territory – telling another historical (albeit, not as far back) tale of a teenager thrust suddenly into the spotlight. Fingers crossed we’ll find out what she’s cooked up before the end of the year – A24 is reportedly releasing Priscilla in the US in October, so stay tuned for more info on a possible UK distributor and release date. Bring on a different take on the Elvis legend, all shook up.