The Elton John biopic starring Taron Egerton gets the green light

Long-rumoured, the Elton John biopic Rocketman starring Taron Egerton as the pop legend has been given the green light.

Paramount Pictures is set to bring the singer’s tumultuous life story to the big screen, with British director and actor Dexter Fletcher behind the camera.

John and his partner David Furnish will also co-produce the movie through his own imprint Rocket Pictures, alongside Matthew Vaughn’s Marv Films.

According to reports, Egerton has quite the set of pipes on him, and will be singing the songs himself.

Reports emerged earlier this year that the Kingsman star had been into the famous Abbey Road studios to record his own versions of many of the singer’s favourites, and Elton had been seriously impressed by the results.

Funish reportedly played the recordings to John, later telling The Hollywood Reporter: “When I played the songs for Elton, he was blown away, really blown away. Elton was like, ‘It can’t get any better for me’.

“Elton has told Taron, ‘Don’t copy me. Don’t think you have to sing it exactly the way that I sang it. Don’t think you have to perform it the way I performed it. I think it’s the challenge for the actor to embody the spirit and not get into thinking they have to do an impersonation.”

Of course, the pair already have some shared movie history.

Elton had a cameo role in Kingsman sequel The Golden Circle, while Egerton has already covered the track I’m Still Standing for his voice role in the 2016 animated hit Sing.

Egerton wasn’t the only actor in the frame for the role, however, with both Tom Hardy and Justin Timberlake circling it for a time.

The film is set to go into production in August, and is the second rock biopic to be helmed by Fletcher.

He recently took over on forthcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer was fired last year.

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