Jacob Elordi's Elvis Presley Is Already Beating Austin Butler In One Big Way

Priscilla is the upcoming biopic about Elvis Presley's wife from Sofia Coppola, and Jacob Elordi already seems like a better Elvis than Austin Butler in one specific way. As the title alludes, Priscilla focuses on Elvis' wife more than the King of Rock himself, and explores the toxic relationship between the couple that most other media about them has often sidestepped. Elvis is depicted as a villain, throwing chairs at walls and trying to take control of Priscilla's whole look, when Priscilla ultimately wants to be her own person. Priscilla follows the 2022 hit Elvis, though they're completely different films with different approaches to the same real-life people. Where Priscilla showcases a harrowing drama, Elvis focused on the spectacle of Elvis Presley's life, with some thrilling musical sequences. But there's one major comparison between the two movies, and that is Elvis' voice. Based on the Priscilla trailer, Jacob Elordi's voice already sounds more realistic, authentic, and natural compared to Austin Butler's. Butler's Elvis voice sometimes felt like an impression with all the uh-huhs, though that still worked because of how intentionally theatrical and over-the-top his film is. Interestingly, Butler spent two years in vocal training just to sound like Elvis, and struggled to drop the accent. It was only eight months after Elvis' release when Butler finally started to lose it. While there's no denying that Butler was great as Elvis Presley and totally deserved the Academy Award nomination, based on the trailer, Elordi is already looking like he could be the better of the two 2020's on-screen Elvises. Nevertheless, it's a completely different performance. Elordi doesn't have to perform in the same way that Butler did. His performance is on a much smaller scale. Ultimately, they're both extremely different portrayals of the same person, and while Elordi might excel in some dramatic areas, the Priscilla actor isn't required to commit to the role in the same way that Butler did. There's plenty of room on the cinema landscape for two great Elvis performances.