After the success of last year’s Elvis, another movie about the music icon is in the works — but his estate is reportedly not happy about it.
While Baz Luhrmann‘s 2022 biopic was made in cooperation with the Presley family, TMZ reported on Thursday, June 22, that Priscilla — due out in October — was not. The upcoming film, directed by Sofia Coppola, stars Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley and Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley. The movie is based on Priscilla’s 1985 book, Elvis and Me.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Priscilla, 78, told the outlet that she’s looking forward to the film, which also stars Succession‘s Dagmara Dominczyk. “I am very excited to see the interpretation of my book by the masterful Sofia Coppola,” Priscilla said. “She has such an extraordinary perspective and I have always been such an admirer of her work. I’m certain this movie will take everyone on an emotional journey.”
Priscilla and Elvis tied the knot in 1967 after they met during his military service in Germany. After welcoming their only child, daughter Lisa Marie, in 1968, Elvis and Priscilla called it quits in 1972 and finalized their divorce the following year. (Lisa Marie died in January at age 54.)
Despite her split from Elvis, Priscilla remained connected with his estate, managing Elvis Presley Enterprises for several years after the singer’s 1977 death at age 42. Following Lisa Marie’s death, Priscilla filed to contest her daughter’s will, which included a 2016 amendment that replaced Priscilla as the trustee with Lisa Marie’s eldest children, Riley Keough and the late Benjamin Keough.
Last month, however, Priscilla confirmed that the family had “resolved all confusion” surrounding the estate.
“Riley and Priscilla are at peace in their relationship after the very stressful ordeal over Lisa Marie’s trust and estate,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “There was a lot of back and forth, but they reached a middle ground that makes them both happy.”
Before Lisa Marie’s death, she and her family were thrilled about the success of Elvis, which starred Austin Butler as the titular rock star and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla. “I have seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie Elvis twice now, and let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite,” Lisa Marie wrote via Instagram in May 2022. “Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully.”
Shortly before her death, Lisa Marie accompanied Butler, 31, to the 2023 Golden Globes, where he took home the trophy for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
Priscilla, meanwhile, said the film was “perfection” in a June 2022 interview with Good Morning America. “This is a movie [Elvis] really would have loved, showing who he was, what he was striving for, what his dreams were,” she added.
