Musicals – and not least musical biopics – are a pretty big deal at the movies right now. While you could argue that the musical never really went away, there’s no doubting its popularity right now, following the box-office storming likes of Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman, A Star Is Born and La La Land.
Next up is Elton John biopic Rocketman. The film is directed by Dexter Fletcher (who completed work on Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer’s exit), and stars Taron Egerton as the artist formerly known as Reginald Dwight. Jamie Bell plays his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, and Richard Madden is Elton’s manager, John Reid.
Rocketman is set to be structurally daring and is described as a 'true fantasy', incorporating John’s music as it follows his rise to fame while he was battling demons. A new look at the film has been revealed via our sister publication Total Film magazine, and you can see it below. It features a young Elton at the piano, watched by his mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard), Ivy (Gemma Jones) and Bell’s Bernie Taupin. Check it out in full below:
As Dexter Fletcher tells Total Film, Elton John signed off on the project, but remained fairly hands-off throughout. “He’s given us his blessing and said, ‘You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,’” says Fletcher. “We get feedback from him but he’s letting us get on with it.”
The film is produced by Fletcher’s longterm collaborator Matthew Vaughn, who’s also known for directing Kingsman. Vaughn got involved with the film when a previous iteration fell apart. “I read the script and was just astonished it hadn’t been made,” Vaughn tells TF. “I thought, we should make this.”
Rocketman opens in the UK on May 24, 2019, and in the US on May 31, and you can read more about it in the latest issue of Total Film magazine, which hits shelves this Friday, April 5. It’s a huge Avengers: Endgame special, and features loads more including Toy Story 4, Olivia Wilde and Men In Black International to name a few. Check it out!
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