Dexter Fletcher’s fantasy Elton John biopic has given us its first glimpse of Taron Egerton in action – with a teaser that brings us singing, dancing, and a disco full of flying people.
We already know that Rocketman is going to be a less than conventional biopic – with Egerton telling us the film will be a “musical fantasy” that uses John’s songs to “express important beats in his life at emotional moments” – and the teaser already looks like it has plenty of amazing musical set-pieces built around John’s hits.
We also know that the film won’t be holding back on showing the singer’s dark side either. John is producing the film, alongside husband David Furnish, and Kingsman’s Matthew Vaughn, but reportedly told Fletcher to show him, warts and all.
“This film is going to make people’s jaws hit the ground,” Vaughn told The Hollywood Reporter. “Elton just said, ‘Tell it all. Go as R-rated as you need to’. And we do just that, with his blessing. The flaws and the genius are all there.” (Cue the obligatory Bo-Jack Horseman shot of a celebrity looking jaded at the bottom of a swimming pool…). The film has also been through a bit of a rough ride already since John originally wanted Justin Timberlake to play him, before a very different version almost started shooting with Tom Hardy in the lead.
Still, with flashes of Fletcher’s feel-good musical, Sunshine On Leith, some fantastic looking fantasy sequences, Fletcher’s spot-on voice and look, and John’s neck-prickling hits, Rocketman looks like it could be something pretty special when it opens on May 17th, 2019.