I have bad news. Lana Del Rey isn't featured on the soundtrack for the new movie Priscilla.
In an interview with E! News, the film's director, Sofia Coppola, noted she "got a lot of requisitions about how [Lana] could be part of the movie" based on the life of Priscilla Presley, and she explained why it didn't happen.
The news that 38-year-old Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, one of my favorite tragically romantic singers, was so close to being a part of a film by one of my favorite tragically romantic directors breaks my heart — and I'm not alone. The fans are perturbed.
Let me explain why Lana was perfect for Priscilla. First, let's talk about how Lana's entire persona feels like an homage to Priscilla's lifelong career.
The "Summertime Sadness" singer is known for her cinematic and melancholic music and a vintage Hollywood aesthetic straight out of the '60s.
Her voice is made for soundtracks. I'm still processing my emotions from listening to the otherworldly song "Young and Beautiful" from Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby or her haunting rendition of "Once Upon a Dream" for Maleficent.
Honestly, no shade to Cailee Spaeny (who played Priscilla in the film), but Lana could've been a fair option for the role. In 2013, Lana wrote and starred in her own short film, Tropico, which included an Elvis impersonator.
If becoming Priscilla wasn't in the cards for Lana, she certainly referenced the King of Rock 'n' Roll in her music. In "Body Electric" from her third EP, Paradise, she literally says, "Elvis is my daddy," so her presence made sense somewhere in the film's atmosphere.
In 2008, she had a song called "Elvis" for the documentary The King, including the lyrics, "Elvis, where are you when I need you most?"
Now, let's examine why Sofia Coppola's aesthetic is perfect for Lana's music. Sofia first impressed us with her directorial debut of the controversial novel The Virgin Suicides, a book that feels like it lives on Lana's bedside table.
And to top it all off, the actual Priscilla Presley recently confirmed that she is, in fact, a Lana Del Rey fan.
In the E! News interview, Sofia claimed that she hoped Lana could at least do a song for the film, but "it didn't work out with the timing." The pressure was so heavy that the director claimed she even invited Lana to the film's premiere but said she couldn't make it.
Lana's entire music catalog and wardrobe was the perfect setup to be featured on a soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's Priscilla. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and we, the fandom, have feelings about it.
I'm not the only one upset about the perfect music collaboration that never was:
