‘Priscilla’: Presley movie to be made by Sofia Coppola

Following in the blue suede-shod footsteps of Baz Luhrmann’s hit biopic “Elvis,” director Sofia Coppola’s next movie will be “Priscilla,” based on the 1985 best-seller “Elvis and Me” by Priscilla Presley, the movie news website Deadline reported Monday.

Cailee Spaeny, a 25-year-old Missouri-born actress whose credits include the HBO series “Mare of Easttown“and the fantasy sequels “Pacific Rim: Uprising” and “The Craft: Legacy,” will play Priscilla.

Also 25, Australia’s Jacob Elordi, known for his bad-boy and heartthrob roles in Netflix’s “The Kissing Booth” franchise and HBO’S controversial “Euphoria,” will be Elvis.

The movie will be distributed by A24, an independent film company that has attracted a cult-like fan base due to its handling of such acclaimed, auteur-driven movies as “The Witch,” “Uncut Gems” and “Midsommar.”

No doubt “Priscilla” earned a green light in part due to the arguably surprising commercial and critical success of “Elvis,” with Austin Butler as Presley, which opened June 24 and so far has collected $282 million at the worldwide box office, making it the most popular film at the box office this year without the presence of a Minion, dinosaur, superhero or Tom Cruise.

“Priscilla” will be the eighth feature directed by Coppola (who also wrote the script), the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, director of “The Godfather.”

Like her father, Sofia Coppola is an Oscar-winner: She earned the Best Original Screenplay award for 2003’s “Lost in Translation.”

Unlike the polarizing Luhrmann, she is almost universally admired by critics and cinephiles, who generally greeted Mondays news with cheers.