Of all the famous musicians that resonate across generations, Elton John is among the most deserving of being the subject of a biopic. So much so, in fact, that in 2011, it was reported that John would be producing Rocketman, a musical biopic about his life. However, the project has hit a number of obstacles in the years since. With those delays have only come a scattering of updates, one of which was that a few years back, the Elton John biopic had tapped Tom Hardy to play the lead. However, now it's been announced that Hardy is out, and Kingsman: The Secret Service's Taron Egerton is lined up to play John instead.
According to The Daily Mail, Taron Egerton has been having conversations with Rocketman producers Matthew Vaughn (Egerton's Kingsman director) and Dexter Fletcher about boarding the biopic to play Elton John. As for why Tom Hardy is no longer involved with the project, supposedly the Dunkirk star has trouble with singing, and since Egerton has no problem with belting out tunes, that makes him the worthier actor for the job. The Rocketman team is hoping to start shooting the movie before 2017 is finished, but whether or not they meet that goal will depend on if a deal can be reached with Egerton.
Taron Egerton's Hollywood career kicked off in 2014 (early 2015 in the U.S.) with the release of Kingsman: The Secret Service, where he played lead protagonist Gary "Eggsy" Unwin. Egerton is reprising Eggsy later this year in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (where Elton John will cameo as himself), but outside the world of finely-dressed British says, Egerton's other notable credits include playing Eddie the Eagle's eponymous character and voicing Johnny in the animated movie Sing. He'll also play as Robin Hood in next year's reboot about the legendary archer, which also stars Jamie Foxx, Eve Hewson, Ben Mendelsohn and Jamie Dornan. Suffice it to say that Egerton has cemented himself as a notable talent, so him playing Elton John would be another boost for his rising fame.
The Elton John biopic is expected to explore several decades of the performer's life, from when the young Reginald Dwight (Elton John's real name) started going to the Royal Academy of Music to when he became a pop sensation in the 1970s to even his time scoring popular musicals, like The Lion King for Disney. Rocketman will also look at some of the "juicier details" of John's personal life, but the movie's main focus will be to show how John became one of the world's greatest singer-composers and how he's stayed relevant despite being hit by certain scandals.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on Rocketman, and for the Taron Egerton fans out there, Kingsman: The Golden Circle will open in theaters on September 22.
