Unreleased Elvis Presley footage teased in first trailer for new Elvis docu-film – watch

23 January 2025, 12:26

Elvis Presley
A new Elvis film is on the way from Baz Luhrmann. Picture: Alamy/Instagram

By Hannah Watkin

New footage of the King of Rock and Roll was unearthed by Elvis biopic director Baz Luhrmann while working on his 2022 film.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

New footage of Elvis Presley performing at his legendary Summer Festival Las Vegas residency has been unearthed.

The previously unseen recordings were rediscovered by Elvis director Baz Luhrmann while researching for his Austin Butler-fronted biopic, and are now being edited by the 62-year-old director into a new documentary-style film.

On Wednesday, January 22, Baz shared with Deadline and later posted on social media the docu film’s teaser trailer.

Watch the teaser trailer below!

Elvis Presley documentary teaser trailer: TCB

“I’m really thrilled that I am finally able to announce that we have all been working hard and collaborating on unearthing and showcasing a treasure trove of unseen footage, sound and other materials to create something special for the big (and small) screen,” he captioned the release.

The footage and posts also made reference to “TCB”, Elvis’ band name and personal motto from his 70s heyday which stood for “Taking Care of Business”, and which appears to be the working title of the upcoming film.

Baz further teased the exciting new Elvis project in a longer statement shared with Deadline.

“There has always been talk amongst Elvis’ fans, both longtime fans and newer fans brought in by our film Elvis, of missing reels and never-before-seen concert footage,” he said.

Elvis movie: Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler on the King's journey to big screen

“During the making of Elvis, from very early on in my process I had the privilege to access the studio’s vaults deep in the salt mines of Kansas, where troves of old film negatives are stored.

The director went on to describe how in these treasure troves of film, unused footage from the 1970 Las Vegas show-focused Elvis: That’s the Way It Is film, the ‘Jailhouse Rock’ singer’s 1972 concert tour film Elvis on Tour, and rare behind-the-scenes audio of interviews with the singer about his life were all found after once being “feared lost”.

While Baz admitted he and his team are “still very much in the middle of creating” the new film based on these rediscovered recordings, he explained that the time had come to announce the project.

“There has been so much talk and such enthusiasm for this, that I felt now it was time to share what has been happening with it.

See how Austin Butler became Elvis in new promo

“I can’t say much more about it, except that I wouldn’t call it a documentary, or a concert film; our aim here is to make something new in the Elvis canon,” he continued.

His statement finished: “My creative team at Bazmark is being led by my longtime editor, Jonathan Redmond, and we’ve partnered with the terrific teams at Authentic Studios and Sony Music Vision, with great support from Warner Bros., to bring something to the screen that befits the magnitude of Elvis as a performer but also offers deeper revelations of his humanity and inner life.”

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic famously left its star Austin Butler so “fixated” on the man he portrayed that The Bikeriders actor had to hire a dialect coach in order to try and lose the accent he took on to play Elvis.

This week’s exciting film news reveals Baz clearly also couldn’t help falling in love with the iconic singer beyond his work on the 2022 biopic.