Matthew McConaughey to swap out “alright, alright, alright” for “thank you, thank you very much,” after being cast as Elvis Presley in Netflix’s upcoming animation, Agent Elvis.
Somewhere out there, Austin Butler is whimpering in his everlasting Elvis Presley accent, after news that Matthew McConaughey has been cast as the King of Rock in an upcoming Netflix series. Titled Agent Elvis, the adult animation is executive produced and co-created by Priscilla Presley, and is set to premiere on the streaming service sometime next month.
Swapping out “alright, alright, alright” for “thank you, thank you very much,” McConaughey will voice a version of Elvis very dissimilar to the one depicted in Baz Lazzhurman’s 2022 biopic. As its title suggests, Agent Elvis will follow the musician in both his role as an international superstar and, for some reason, his double life as a covert spy.
“Elvis Presley trades in his jumpsuit for a jet pack when he is covertly inducted into a secret government spy program to battle the dark forces that threaten the country he loves – all while holding down his day job as the King Of Rock And Roll,” the accompanying synopsis reads. McConaughey joins Priscilla Presley as co-creator of the series, which was first greenlit in 2019.
Mike Arnold, a co-writer on multiple episodes of fellow adult animation Archer, will serve as Agent Elvis’ showrunner, with Across the Spider-Verse studio Sony Pictures on board to animate. Speaking of the series upon its 2019 announcement, Priscilla said her former husband had “always dreamed of being the superhero fighting crime and saving the world, [and] Agent Elvis lets him do just that.”
Agent Elvis’ accompanying teaser was released earlier today (February 7), and sees a cartoonish Presley venture from stadiums to secret meetings with President Nixon, while McConaughey speaks of “man accomplish[ing] the impossible.” Butler’s portrayal of Presley, meanwhile, has remained a talking point (literally) in Hollywood, following his Golden Globes win for Elvis last month.
Austin Butler responds to those that say they still hear traces of Elvis' accent in his speaking voice:
“I had three years where that was my only focus, so I'm sure there's pieces of him in my DNA and I’ll always be linked.” pic.twitter.com/qj3jCDzktS
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 11, 2023
The actor is seemingly incapable of ridding himself of the southern drawl talking voice he used when emulating Elvis for the eponymous film. Earlier this week, Butler finally admitted that he is “getting rid of the accent,” and spoke of how its continued use may have caused health issues. “I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing,” he said. “One song took 40 takes.“
