During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Wonka director Paul King opened up about his next musical project, which is a Fred Astaire movie starring Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Tom Holland.
King confirmed that the biopic is still currently in the scripting stage of the pre-production, as he and Rocketman scribe Lee Hall work on finding the right story. The project has been in development since 2021.
“We’re working on a script right now. I’m working on a script with Lee Hall, who’s a great, great, great writer, a great screenwriter,” King said. “And he’s incredibly well versed in the era and he’s historically, incredibly knowledgeable as well. Clearly, he knows his dance inside and out. So, I’ve been working with him and learning a huge amount. But again, it’s like we’re trying to find the story in the script and hopefully something will happen. But, we’ll see.”
Who’s involved in the Fred Astaire biopic?
The Fred Astaire biopic will be directed by Paddington’s Paul King from a screenplay written by Lee Hall. It is produced by Amy Pascal, Rachael O’Conner, Ben Holden, and Josh Hyams. Holland will be portraying the legendary American actor in the project, where he finally gets to showcase his singing and dancing skills after starring in the West End production of Billy Elliot The Musical when he was only 13 years old. While waiting for the project to move forward, Holland is currently getting ready for his West End comeback in Jamie Lloyd’s upcoming stage adaptation of Romeo & Juliet.
Fred Astaire was a multi-talented American actor, dancer, singer, and choreographer that was active from the 1930s to the early 1980s. His film career took off after his first on-screen partnership with Ginger Rogers, starting with 1932’s Flying Down To Rio; the pair would collaborate on 9 more films. Astaire received further recognition for his tap dancing skills in classic musical films such as 1942’s Holiday Inn, 1948’s Easter Parade, 1953’s The Band Wagon, 1957’s Funny Face, and more.
