Warner Bros has reportedly secured the rights to Elvis songs for use in a production based on a script by Saving Mr Banks writer Kelly Marcel

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Baz Luhrmann is in talks to direct a biopic of Elvis Presley, reports The Wrap.

The Australian director, fresh from the $351m box office success of his 3D remake of The Great Gatsby, will work from a screenplay by Saving Mr Banks' Kelly Marcel if he signs on the dotted line. It is not known which periods of Presley's life the film might visit, but the script is not based on any pre-existing property.

Crucially, studio Warner Bros is said to have secured rights to use songs by the king of rock and roll in the production. Marcel has also written the forthcoming adaptation of literary smash Fifty Shades of Grey.

Last month Luhrmann was reported to be in talks to bring the cult 1970s martial arts western Kung Fu to the big screen. It is understood that production is currently fighting it out with the Elvis biopic to be the Oscar-nominated film-maker's next project.

The director was also reportedly being courted by Steven Spielberg to take the reins on an HBO production of Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon script.