VIDEO: Trailer Drops for Baz Luhrmann’s ‘EPiC’ Elvis Presley Las Vegas Concert Doc
Posted on: December 9, 2025, 04:30h.
Last updated on: December 9, 2025, 04:35h.
- Director Baz Luhrmann just dropped the trailer for his “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” documentary
- The film restores unseen 16mm and 8mm reels of Elvis at the International/Hilton in Las Vegas, synced with narration from the King
Baz Luhrmann has unveiled the first trailer for “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” the director’s new film built from long lost footage of Presley’s legendary Las Vegas residency. The project, slated for wide release on February 20, 2026, stitches together rare 16mm reels from “Elvis on Tour” (1972) and 8mm treasures from the Graceland archive.
The trailer opens as Elvis readies himself backstage at the Las Vegas Hilton — twirling his ring, tapping his foot — before the words flash: “In 1969, Elvis returned to the stage to begin a legendary residency in Las Vegas. For 40 years, there have been rumors of lost footage … It was found.”
Presley’s own voice follows: “There’s been a lot written and a lot said, but never from my side of the story.” Archival concert clips then roll as he belts “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Check it out yourself…
Fresh off what became known as his “’68 Comeback Special” on NBC-TV, Elvis launched his Las Vegas residency on July 31, 1969 at the International Hotel (later the Las Vegas Hilton, and now Westgate).
He performed 636 sold‑out concerts between then and December 12, 1976.
At the time, the residency revived Elvis’s music career after a decade of subpar film roles in Hollywood. In retrospect, it did much more — setting the template for the modern superstar music residencies that still shape Vegas today.
Following That Dream
Luhrmann first hunted for unseen material from the residency while developing his 2022 biopic, “Elvis.” The search uncovered 68 boxes of 35mm and 8mm film in Warner Bros.’ Kansas salt mine archives. The footage included unheard interviews, Presley’s 1957 gold jacket performance in Hawaii, and outtakes from “Elvis on Tour” and “That’s the Way It Is.”
Because much of the footage lacked audio, Luhrmann’s team painstakingly restored and synced it to existing recordings. In the process, they unearthed a 45-minute audio tape of Presley himself recounting his life story. Most of that tape serves as the narration for Luhrmann’s new film.
“I wouldn’t call it a documentary, or a concert film; our aim here is to make something new in the Elvis canon … to bring something to the screen that befits the magnitude of Elvis as a performer but also offers deeper revelations of his humanity and inner life,” he told Deadline in January.
Luhrmann’s 2022 Elvis biopic, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, grossed $288 million worldwide, earned eight Oscar nominations, and was named one of AFI’s films of the year. A stage adaptation is also in the works.
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