Here Are The Front-Runners To Play Elvis For Baz Luhrmann

“The Great Gatsby” and “Moulin Rouge” director Baz Luhrmann has been quietly readying his first feature film in six years: a biopic about the king of rock ‘n’ roll himself, Elvis Presley. Now, THR reports that five young actors are the front-runners for the coveted lead role: Ansel Elgort, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Austin Butler, Miles Teller, and Harry Styles. According to the story, all five tested for the Australian director within the last week, with the part expected to be filled shortly.

Elgort, 25, is currently shooting “West Side Story” for Steven Spielberg, in which he plays Tony, the male lead. He rose to prominence as Gus Waters in the hit YA romance adaptation “The Fault In Our Stars,” and recently won acclaim for his stoic turn as a getaway driver in Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver.” He will soon lead the awards-contender “The Goldfinch,” adapted from the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel.

Taylor-Johnson, 29, burst onto the scene in 2010 playing the lead in Matthew Vaughn’s raunchy anti-superhero film, “Kick-Ass.” He later returned for the sequel and went on to major roles in “Godzilla” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” where he played the hero Quicksilver. He scored a Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor in 2017 for “Nocturnal Animals.”

Teller, 32, has received wild acclaim for his committed performances in “Whiplash,” “The Spectacular Now,” and “Bleed for This.” He has had a less than stellar run in commercial films, having appeared in the ill-fated “Divergent” series and the 2015 “Fantastic Four” reboot. He can currently be seen in the Amazon original noir series “Too Old to Die Young” and has a major role in “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Butler, 27, is the smallest name on the list, having recently transitioned away from teen-friendly TV roles. He will next be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Styles, 25, is of course known as a member of the massively popular British boy band, One Direction. However, he recently turned heads in a positive way with a well-received supporting role in Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk.”

Whoever is cast will join Tom Hanks, who is attached to play Presley’s controlling manager, Tom Parker.