Paramount Pictures is close to finalizing a deal to distribute and finance, Rocketman, a film that will have Taron Egerton playing Elton John with Dexter Fletcher directing the motion picture.
The film will cover the singer/pianist’s growth from a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to a global superstar, through his influential and enduring musical partnership with his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin.
This is a bit of a dream role for Egerton, who has not hidden his wish to play this role. The actor will sing the songs himself, and rumor has it that everyone who has heard him sing has been blown away by the quality of his voice. Matthew Vaughn, who is a producer on the project along with Elton John, has been a driving force in getting this long-gestating picture to the starting line, and the plan is to start production in August. Vaughn and Egerton have been frequent collaborators with Egerton in both of the Vaughn-directed Kingsmen: The Secret Service films, and also as a producer of Eddie the Eagle, which Fletcher directed with Egerton starring.