The bonkers Netflix series Agent Elvis will take major inspiration from iconic filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, says the animated show’s co-creator John Eddie. Discussing the series with Empire, who have also released a new image of the titular spy, Eddie revealed that Agent Elvis (formerly known as Agent King) will follow this alternate version of The King of Rock ’n’ Roll through a “Forrest Gump-type timeline” and will even find Elvis “facing off against” the infamous cult leader and murderer Charles Manson. Just as Tarantino would have wanted...
“We follow this Forrest Gump-type timeline, where Elvis is involved in everything that’s ever happened in history...I pitched it as Elvis fighting crime as if it were directed by Quentin Tarantino. Animated sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.”
Of course, Tarantino has tackled the crimes of The Manson Family before, in 2019’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, which also took major liberties with history. No doubt that Agent Elvis will follow in Tarantino’s footsteps in that regard (as far as we know Elvis Presley was never really a secret agent) while attempting to pay homage to the glorious violence, snappy dialogue, and effortless ‘cool’ that Tarantino always delivers on.
Of course, turning to Tarantino for inspiration means that Agent Elvis is not for family viewing. “It’s not a kids’ show by any means,” Eddie says of the animated series. Meaning that the battle between Elvis and Manson is for adults only. Which should hardly come as a surprise...
Matthew McConaughey is Elvis Presley in Agent Elvis
Agent Elvis finds Elvis Presley wanting to give something back as he trades in his jumpsuit for a jetpack after being 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 ’n’ Roll.’
While the streaming had remained rather secretive over who would provide the vocals for Agent Elvis himself, it has now been revealed that it will be none other than Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey. The magnetic star of such acclaimed hits as Interstellar, The Wolf of Wall Street, True Detective, and Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey has provided the voice for animated characters before in the likes of Sing and Kubo and the Two Strings. The actor is the perfect person to bring Agent Elvis to life, with his Texas drawl just the right kind of audible chocolate to ensure that Elvis keeps his cool while battling dark forces and saving the world.
From the studio behind the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Agent Elvis will find the music icon embedded in all manner of major historical events, including being the first man on the Moon and meeting Richard Nixon just before the Watergate scandal breaks. The series stars Kaitlin Olson as CeCe Ryder, Don Cheadle as Commander, Johnny Knoxville as Bobby Ray, Niecy Nash-Betts as Bertie, Tom Kenny as Agent Elvis’ chimpanzee sidekick Scatter, Jason Mantzoukas as Howard Hughes, and Priscilla Presley as herself.
Agent Elvis is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on March 17, 2023.