Without a question, Elvis has been one of the most successful movies of the last year, rekindling interest in the namesake performer throughout the globe. Now, Sofia Coppola is making a film on the man, but with a different tone. A24 has announced that the Oscar winner would direct and write Priscilla, a film adaptation of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s biography Elvis and Me. Further, Cailee Spaeny has been cast as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley. Their 1985 book, Elvis and Me, relates the story of her marriage to the King from Priscilla’s point of view. Although the singer was often seen favourably, especially at the time, the biography paints a different image.
This book follows the pair from their initial meeting when Priscilla was 14 and Elvis was 24, all the way to their separation. There were rumours of infidelity on both sides, Elvis’ drug usage, and other issues that plagued their relationship, all of which are detailed in Priscilla’s book. Priscilla will be Coppola’s first picture since the 2020s On the Rocks, and the director is widely speculated to have been eyeing the project for some time. The film Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, is probably the director’s most well-known work. She won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the film was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture.
Marie Antoinette, The Virgin Suicides, and The Beguiled are just a few of her other cinematic credits. As with all of her other films, Coppola will also write the screenplay for this one. Best recognised for his performance in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Euphoria, Elordi will play Elvis in the next film. He also starred in Hulu’s Deep Water and Netflix’s The Kissing Booth trilogy. After meeting with a number of young performers, Coppola reportedly cast Elordi in the part.
However, Spaeny was Coppola’s first and only option for Priscilla. Most recently, Spaeny portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt in Showtime’s The First Lady. She has also appeared in Devs and Mare of Easttown and in the movies On the Basis of Sex and Bad Times at the El Royale, among others. Coppola’s business, American Zoetrope, will serve as the film’s producer. The Apartment and Fremantle Company are both attached as producers to the project. The Apartment, Fremantle Company, and Sony’s Stage 6 provided funding. Additionally, Priscilla’s North American distribution rights have been acquired by A24.
This September, production on Priscilla will start in Toronto.