Elvis Presley’s music defined a generation and brought rock and roll to the masses. The King of Rock and Roll has had his fair share of time in the spotlight, with many biographies and biopics about him. Most recently, Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic Elvis was released to rave reviews. With so much focus on Elvis and other pop stars as the rise of biopics about legendary musicians release, Sofia Coppola is set to explore one woman whose story is long overdue.

Priscilla is Coppola’s dive into the true story of Priscilla Presley, adapted for the screen from Priscilla’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me. No stranger to biopics and adaptations, with successes like Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides to her name, Sofia Coppola is set to bring another strong female lead to the spotlight in Priscilla. Let’s take a look at what we know about Coppola’s newest film so far.

Priscilla: The Plot

     Paramount Pictures

Priscilla is set to be an adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me. The book was an intimate, first-person account of Priscilla’s life with Elvis – a behind-the-scenes look into the good, bad, and ugly of what came with fame. The book became an instant New York Times Bestseller upon release, capturing the hearts and minds of the nation.

Elvis and Me was adapted to film once before in 1988 by director Larry Peerce, with a teleplay written by Joyce Eliason, who is perhaps best known for producing Mulholland Drive. His film, entitled Elvis and Me after the memoir, was a made-for-TV movie starring Susan Walters and Dale Midkiff as Priscilla and Elvis Presley, respectively. This film did not see much success, being based very loosely on Priscilla’s memoir, and we’re eager to see Sofia Coppola’s adaptation stay true to Priscilla’s experiences as written.

The memoir discusses Priscilla’s life, marriage to Elvis, divorce, and all the in-betweens. Priscilla Presley was only 14 years old when she began a relationship with the King of Rock and Roll, who was 24 at the time. The two married when Priscilla was 22 and Elvis was 32 after a series of affairs on Elvis’ part. The book goes on to describe their married life, the birth of their daughter Lisa Marie, and more.

While the history behind this famous couple is not exactly a mystery, Priscilla Presley’s story is certainly deserving of a biopic. Especially with the release of Elvis earlier this year and many other recent biopics about male musicians, it feels timely that the women behind these magnanimous men finally have their stories shared. We can’t wait to see how Coppola brings Elvis and Me to the big screen in Priscilla!

Priscilla: The Cast

     HBO

When Deadline announced Sofia Coppola’s newest film with A24 in September 2022, the two lead actors were already cast. Cailee Spaeny is set to star as Priscilla Presley in the biopic, with Jacob Elordi playing Elvis. Spaeny has had a whirlwind of a career so far, appearing in Bad Times at El Royale, On the Basis of Sex, and Vice, all in the same year. Elordi is best known for his roles as Nate Jacobs on Euphoria and Noah Flynn on The Kissing Booth.

The additional cast is yet to be announced, but it’s clear that Coppola is happy with her choices for the stars, with Deadline reporting:

Behind the scenes, the talent is just as carefully selected and impressive for Priscilla. Coppola is working again with collaborators Philippe Le Sourd as Director of Photography, Stacey Battat as Costume Designer, Sarah Flack as Editor, and Tamara Deverell as Production Designer. This team has worked with Sofia Coppola many times before on films like On The Rocks, The Beguiled, The Bling Ring, Somewhere, Lost in Translation, and more. These talented creators have also worked with directors like Guillermo del Toro, Stephen Soderbergh, and Wong Kar-wai, so their filmography speaks for itself.

Priscilla will be Coppola’s third film distributed by A24, coming after the successes of On The Rocks and The Bling Ring. Priscilla will be produced by The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, and American Zoetrope, with financing from The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, and Sony’s Stage 6 Films.

With such an incredible team behind Priscilla, we’re excited to see how this film develops!

Release Date

Priscilla began filming this fall in Toronto. There is no release date yet, but with the film currently in production, it may be some time before it hits the big screen. In the meantime, we’ll be waiting with anticipation for more information to release about Sofia Coppola’s newest film Priscilla and all the exciting details surrounding it!