Given the ubiquitous pop cultural figure he became, it’s not hard to imagine that an animated show about Elvis Presley fighting crime might have been a vintage piece of kids’ breakfast cartoon fun back in the day. But strap in – because the incoming Agent Elvis is actually going to be a wild, irreverent, bloody ride for grown-up audiences, taking the King Of Rock n’ Roll (here voiced by none other than Matthew McConaughey) and pitching him into all kinds of crazy historical adventures.
“We follow this Forrest Gump-type timeline, where Elvis is involved in everything that’s ever happened in history,” John Eddie (who co-created the show along with Priscilla Presley herself) tells Empire. And one of those adventures takes him into Once Upon A Time In Hollywood territory, facing off against Charles Manson. Fitting, given that Tarantino himself was a major influence on the show. “I pitched it as Elvis fighting crime as if it were directed by Quentin Tarantino,” laughs Eddie. “Animated sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.” Which means, it’s probably not one for younger viewers. “It’s not a kids’ show by any means,” he warns. That’d be one way to get ‘em all shook up.
Read Empire’s full Agent Elvis story in the Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse issue, on sale Thursday 16 March. Become an Empire member now to access the issue in full on launch day, or pre-order the issue online now here. Agent Elvis streams on Netflix from Friday 17 March.