Matthew McConaughey will be voicing legendary music icon Elvis Presley in Netflix's new animated spy series Agent Elvis.
The series was created by Priscilla Presley and John Eddie.
According to Deadline, the logline for the show reads:
“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."
While the general premise is bold and unique audiences don't think the casting is "alright, alright, alright."
Based on the trailer, McConaughey sounds less like "The King of Rock 'n' Roll" and more like Matthew McConaughey.
Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi then moved to Memphis, Tennessee as a teenager. His southern drawl was shaped by both places.
McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas and moved Longview, Texas as a teen. His mother was from Trenton, New Jersey giving her a very non-southern accent, but his father was from Mississippi and Louisiana giving the actor a tenuous vocal connection to Presley.
Netflix posted a trailer for the upcoming series with the caption:
"Elvis Presley always dreamed of being a superhero—now, Priscilla Presley is making his dream a reality!"
Here's the trailer.
Social media users didn't seem to be on board with McConaughey's casting.
Austin Butler set the bar for nailing the voice and mannerisms of The King with his rousing, pitch-perfect portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's dazzling 2022 musical biopic Elvis.
Butler even won the Golden Globe for the role and is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
So it's not surprising people were all shook up to hear Agent Elvis wasn't voiced by Butler or anyone else sounding less Texan turned surfer dude.
At least the premise doesn't seem to be completely unrealistic.
Still, McConaughey stans can't help falling in love.
Find out if McConaughey's interpretation ultimately works when Agent Elvis starts streaming on Netflix in March.
