Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Biopic Is Narrowing the Search for Its Star

Warner Bros. and Baz Luhrmann are digging deep in their hunt for a modern Elvis Presley to star in a forthcoming biopic focused on the rock ‘n’ roll icon.

Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver), Miles Teller (Whiplash), singer-songwriter and actor Harry Styles (Dunkirk), Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron) are all in the running as potential Presleys, according to THR. Were Taylor-Johnson to snag the part, this would be his second time as a music legend, after his performance as John Lennon in 2009’s Nowhere Boy.

The untitled-as-yet film is said to center on Presley’s rise to stardom and his peak-fame years, a good fit for the director of The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge. Notably left out are that messy later period and Presley’s infamous death on the commode. Tom Hanks has already been cast as the musician’s svengali of a manager, Thomas Parker. No word on other cast members or a release date, but Luhrmann’s Elvis should be determined within the coming weeks.