Austin Butler Lands Major Movie Role in Wake of 'Elvis' Success

Austin Butler Lands Major Movie Role in Wake of 'Elvis' Success,Austin Butler will have to drop his Elvis Presley accent for his next project, City on Fire. The Elvis star will also earn his first producer credit on the project, set up at Sony 3000 Pictures. Butler previously worked with Sony Pictures on Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, [...]

Austin Butler Lands Major Movie Role in Wake of ‘Elvis’ Success

Austin Butler will have to drop his Elvis Presley accent for his next project, City on Fire. The Elvis star will also earn his first producer credit on the project, set up at Sony 3000 Pictures. Butler previously worked with Sony Pictures on Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which featured the actor’s breakout role as Manson Family member Tex Watson.

City on Fire is based on Don Winslow’s novel, which was followed by two sequels. David Heyman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Paddington) and Shane Salerno (Avatar: The Way of Water) will serve as co-producers, reports Deadline. Sony is making the project a “high priority” and will soon start meeting with writers and filmmakers. No director is attached yet. Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva will oversee the project for the studio.

City on Fire centers on disputes between Irish and Italian criminal empires in New England. Winslow uses elements of The Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, and other Greek tragedies in a modern setting. Butler was cast as Danny Ryan, a street soldier torn between protecting his family and fighting the authorities and the Mafia. The second book was published in April 2022, while the third book will be published on April 18.

“We are elated that venerable producer David Heyman, alongside Austin Butler, will join forces with Shane Salerno to make Don Winslow’s spectacular trilogy, starting with City on Fire. Don is an iconic novelist and a true master of the genre of suspenseful crime fiction and has created one of the most memorable modern-day heroes in Danny Ryan, the complex and compelling protagonist of this trilogy. It is a dream come true to envision Austin, with his uniquely brilliant and charismatic talent, bringing this character and story to cinematic life.”

Butler’s casting earned Winslow’s blessing. “Like so many people around the world, I was amazed by Austin Butler’s Oscar-nominated performance in Elvis,” the author said. “I’ve had a number of conversations with Austin about this trilogy that I’ve been working on for almost 30 years of my life, and I have been deeply impressed by his commitment to playing Danny Ryan as well as his passion to also produce the three films with David and Shane and Elizabeth and Marisa.”

Butler has several other projects in the works that are likely to come out long before City on Fire. He stars in Dune: Part Two, which opens on Nov. 3. He also joined Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, and Jodie Comer in Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle drama The Bikeriders. Lastly, he has a role in Apple TV+’s upcoming Masters of the Air, the follow-up to Band of Brothers and The Pacific.

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