Priscilla: Everything you should know about Sofia Coppola’s controversial new Presley biopic

The teaser trailer for Priscilla, Sofia Coppola’s controversial biopic about the romance between music icon Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla, has dropped and ramped up even more buzz for already highly anticipated film.

The trailer shows the actress Cailee Spaeny, as a teenage Priscilla dobbing on lashings of mascara, checking out Graceland for the first time and being asked by her mother “what about boys at school?”, suggesting her disapproval of the 14-year-old’s romance with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll (to be fair, when they met, he was ten years Priscilla’s senior at 24, so it’s hard to be unsympathetic).

Between fans questioning whether the movie would gloss over the pair’s problematic age gap and stormy romance , which has historically been the case in documentaries and films, and Elvis’ estate slamming the project as “a horrible college movie”, the buzz has certainly been at fever pitch.

Priscilla tells the tale of the pair’s life together from Mrs Presley’s perspective and is based on her autobiography Elvis & Me. It’s set to track the actress’s life from when she first met the singer in 1959 and their subsequent, which saw her move into the star’s Graceland mansion in 1963, before they married in 1967.

The biopic promises to be an “intimate” portrait of the couple’s life together, will also star Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi as Elvis.

Watch the trailer here, and read on for everything we know about the controversial film.

Is Priscilla Presley on board with the film?

Yes. Despite Elvis’ estate branding it “horrible”, the 78-year-old has said she’s supportive of the film and keen to see the adaptation of her memoir Elvis & Me brought to life by the “masterful” Sofia Coppola.

Mrs Presley has said in reports: “I am very excited to see the interpretation of my book by the masterful Sofia Coppola. 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 has tried for decades to preserve Elvis’ music legacy, and was part of the team who first opened up their Graceland mansion to fans.The pair were married in 1967 at an intimate ceremony in Las Vegas when she was 21 and Elvis was 32, but split in 1975, just a few years before the singer’s death. He was said to have been smitten with Priscilla when they met and began courting her.

Because she was still a child, Priscilla’s parents were said to be wary of them being together, but the love story prevailed and they tied the knot eight years after they first met. They had one child together, Lisa Marie, who died in January 2023 after suffering a cardiac arrest, aged just 54.

Will the film stay true to life and chart the couple’s many problems?

The story of the pair’s life together is told through Priscilla’s eyes, since the film is based on her autobiography and her memories of the star.

Priscilla did not shy away from sharing some of her difficult experiences with the singer in her book, including that he gave her potent prescription drugs which were highly addictive, and would knock her out for days when she complained about insomnia. Though the two presented an image of a perfect romance to the cameras, things were often stormy behind closed doors.

She also detailed how distant their relationship became soon after marriage and how much she had to contend with his demands and mood swings. It’s expected that much of this will be detailed in the film.

Will Sofia Coppola make this one of the best Presley films ever?

From The Virgin Suicides to Marie Antoinette and The Beguiled, Coppola, who both directed Priscilla and was its screenwriter, has been praised for how well she explores stories about women from unexpected angles.

She says she’s wanted to make the film “for some time,” and is determined to fully capture Presley’s voice from the best selling memoir.

“Priscilla is the real focus of it,” Coppola told Vogue. “There are some aspects of Elvis’s career included but it all sort of plays out in the background of their relationship and her developing her identity. I loved how Baz [Luhrmann] approached his story in a very collage-y way, but I’m glad it didn’t go into much of Priscilla’s story because now I can really dive deep.”

When will the new film be released?

No official date has been released, but it is slated to hit screens in October this year.

Fans, while widely skeptical about whether the film will do the the pair’s relationship justice, are hopeful and many say they can’t wait, with one writing underneath the trailer: “This is going to be one for us all not to be missed. This one will be the truth!”

What other biopics have been made?

The tale of Priscilla and Elvis has been explored many times before with a number of films about the star’s lives.

The first Elvis was released in 1979 and charted the legend’s life up until 1970. It was released in Europe and Australia after success on US television.

All in all, there have been more than 30 biopics made about the star’s life, with the most recent one released in 2022.

Titled simply Elvis, the award-winning biographical film was directed by Baz Luhrmann and followed the life of Elvis when he was under the management of Colonel Tom Parker. It starred Austin Butler in a multi-award-winning turn as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Parker.