Elvis Presley will be the next musician to get the biopic treatment, in an upcoming movie directed by Baz Luhrmann. Tom Hanks is already signed on to play Presley’s manager, and according to the Hollywood Reporter five men—including Ansel Elgort and Harry Styles—are in the running to play the king of rock ‘n’ roll. None of those feel quite right. But per TMZ, G-Eazy says he wants to play Elvis, which would be absolutely perfect casting.
TMZ reports that although G-Eazy wasn’t named among the top candidates, the Bay Area rapper has met with both Luhrmann and Warner Bros. to express his interest in playing Elvis. He even used Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” as an Instagram caption last month, which is dedication because who is quoting Elvis Presley on social media in 2019? The photo reads like some sort of Elvis cosplay until you realize G-Eazy has been dressing like the rock ‘n’ roll icon for some time. He’s been showing us he was born to play Elvis ever since he deemed the pompadour his signature hairstyle. But G-Eazy shares more with Elvis than haircuts and personal style, and the reason he’s perfect for the role goes much deeper.
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There are longstanding claims that Elvis’s sound was stolen from Black musicians. G-Eazy, a white rapper from the Bay, has also received the same criticism. The “Wobble Up” rapper told The Guardian in 2014, he doesn’t pay attention to the skeptics because he “never wanted to gentrify hip-hop.” But what else could his blaccent and alias as the “Hip-Hop Elvis” suggest? Looks like Luhrmann has his Elvis.
Kristin Corry is a staff writer at Noisey. Follow her on Twitter.
