An idea so insane, it must be true: The Asylum, whose proudly schlocky output includes the Sharknado series, is making a movie about Elvis Presley that sounds suitably batshit. Elvis Lives! suggests that the King didn’t actually die in 1977 — he simply began a second career, fighting crime instead.
The King (AP Photo, file)
This “Elvis, what if?” turf has been travelled before, starting with the tabloids that reported Presley sightings long after he’d (supposedly?) passed on. Bubba Ho-Tep — which starred Bruce Campbell as the ageing rock god, living out his days anonymously in a nursing home that’s suddenly invaded by a pesky mummy monster — is probably the most towering example of the genre. But Elvis Lives! still sounds pretty incredible.
According to Deadline, which notes Elvis Lives! will be the first made-for-TV effort by mogul (and Sharknado 3 cast member) Mark Cuban’s AXS TV:
“With Elvis Lives! we intend to do for the life of Elvis Presley what Sharknado did for flying sharks,” Asylum president and conspiracy theorist David Rimawi warned this morning.
Elvis Lives! purports to take the legend of rock n’ roll icon Elvis Presley to the next level, wondering “What if Elvis never really left the building?”
Per AXS TV, in round numbers: Plagued by drug addiction and a failing voice, The King is desperate to make things right with himself, his deceased brother, and God. His attempts to get back on track are thwarted, however, after he helps the cops bring down a powerful crime syndicate — putting his family in danger and sending him on a journey that will change his life forever.
Well, bless-a my soul. And here I was thinking that Elvis & Nixon — starring Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey as the two icons at their much-photographed and very bizarre real-life 1970 meeting — was going to be the Elvis-themed movie to beat this year.