Taron Egerton will star as in Elton John in “Rocketman,” the biopic about the famed singer, with Paramount Pictures nearing a deal to finance and distribute worldwide.
Dexter Fletcher, who replaced Bryan Singer to direct the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is attached to helm the project.
The film, written by Lee Hall, will include John’s emergence as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to becoming a music superstar and his partnership with songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin. John broke out in 1972 with the album “Honky Chateau” and scored a blockbuster with the 1973 album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” which topped the charts for two months in the U.S. and U.K.
Matthew Vaughn and his Marv Films will produce, along with John and his Rocket Pictures partner David Furnish.
The deal was put together by Wyck Godfrey, president of Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Production is set to start this summer.
Vaughn and Egerton teamed on both “Kingsman” films and on “Eddie the Eagle,” which Fletcher directed with Egerton starring. Fletcher and Vaughn previously worked togther on “Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels” and “Layer Cake.”
Egerton stars as Robin Hood in Lionsgate’s upcoming origins film opposite Jamie Foxx with Otto Bathurst directing.
John and Furnish are repped by UTA; Egerton by CAA and United Agents, Fletcher by WME and Independent Talent; and Vaughn by WME. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
