Rumors have been swirling for years now that Harry Styles was in the running to play Elvis Presley in the upcoming biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. Now we know why that didn't come to fruition.

Back in 2019, it was alleged that both he and G-Eazy were being considered to play the iconic musician. The "As It Was" singer confirmed the rumor during a recent interview with Howard Stern.

"There was something incredibly sacred surrounding him [Presley], so I thought I should try to get the part,” he explained, according to the Independent. The role ultimately went to Austin Butler who we'll see in action once Elvis premieres June 24.

Styles made it clear that he harbored no hard feelings about the decision. “If they think the movie’s going to be better with someone else then I don’t want to do it because I don’t want to be the not-as-good version,” he said.

Luhrmann opened up about the decision during an interview on the Fitzy and Wippa podcast. As it turns out, he couldn't cast Harry Styles to play Elvis Presley simply because of who he was.

"The real issue with Harry is, he’s Harry Styles," Luhrmann said. "He’s already an icon."

The director added that he was interested in collaborating with the One Direction alum on something. "He’s such a great spirit and I have nothing but great things to say about Harry Styles,” he gushed.

Meanwhile, Luhrmann said that Butler was "born to play" the role. Based on early reviews, Elvis has been met with largely positive reactions from critics thus far. The biopic already boasts an 80 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Check out a trailer for the film below:

Styles is fresh off the release of his third solo album Harry's House, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 album's chart. Billboard noted that it moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, which made it the best-selling release week of 2022 thus far.

The musician has previously appeared onscreen in Dunkirk and Marvel's Eternals. He is set to star in both My Policeman and Don't Worry Darling. Both upcoming roles will feature some steamy scenes with the former including the star's first nude scenes. Cosmopolitan noted that Styles told Stern he would be showing "bum bum" in My Policeman.

You can check out a trailer for Don't Worry Darling, which premieres Sept. 23, here.

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