Johnny Flynn transforms as David Bowie in trailer for 'Stardust'

A new trailer has been unveiled for the upcoming music movie Stardust, in which Johnny Flynn portrays David Bowie in the months surrounding the birth of his Ziggy Stardust persona.

The movie, which does not have the rights to use the late superstar’s songs, focuses on Bowie’s first American tour in 1971.

Read more: Clip of Flynn as David Bowie

Flynn told Yahoo Movies UK last week that the film follows Bowie “before he got his mojo going” and at a time when he was mostly refusing to play the songs from album The Man Who Sold the World.

The trailer shows Flynn’s Bowie arriving in America while struggling with falling sales and hoping to reinvent himself in order to achieve success.

Stardust is directed by Gabriel Range and played as the opening movie of the Raindance Film Festival in London this week.

It previously premiered to lukewarm reviews at various festivals, after it had its world premiere earlier this month in San Diego.

Read more: Flynn discusses lockdown relevance of film Cordelia

Flynn, who has written an original song as Bowie for the movie, said it was a “huge privilege” to play the icon and cautioned fans not to expect a blockbuster biopic like Rocketman or Bohemian Rhapsody.

He added: “It's really not in the same sort of genre or emotional feel as those big biopic films.

“It's very much a tiny origin story for him. So I really hope people receive it in the way it's meant to be received.”

Marc Maron plays Bowie’s US publicist Ron Oberman, while Jena Malone stars as the singer’s then wife Angie — mother of Bowie’s son, filmmaker Duncan Jones.

Jones has been vocal in his opposition to Stardust, tweeting when the project was announced in February 2019 that he was not consulted and confirming that no Bowie music would appear in the film.

Read more: Jones discusses showing Warcraft to Bowie

He said: “As it stands, this movie won't have any of dad’s music in it and I can't imagine that changing.

“If you want to see a biopic without his music or the family’s blessing, that’s up to the audience.”

Stardust does not yet have a confirmed release date in the UK or USA.

Watch: Johnny Flynn discusses playing David Bowie