The untitled Fred Astaire biopic starring Tom Holland is moving forward with “Paddington” director Paul King behind the camera, TheWrap has confirmed.
The feature film, which was announced in winter 2021 and with Holland confirming on the carpet at his “Spider-Man No Way Home” premiere that he “will be playing Fred Astaire,” will chart the life and career of Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. Holland, fittingly, began his career as a dancer and first broke out as an international performer starring in “Billy Elliott The Musical” on the West End. No news yet on who will be co-starring with Holland as Adele.
The Sony Pictures release has Academy Award nominee Lee Hall rewriting a script from Noah Pink (National Geographic’s “Genius”). Coincidentally, Hall also wrote the book to “Billy Elliott” alongside composer Elton John. Amy Pascal, Rachel O’Conner, Ben Holden and Josh Hyams are attached to produce.
Holland most recently starred “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which earned over $1.9 billion at the global box office, and “Uncharted,” which earned over $400 million globally. He first exploded into Hollywood when he debuted as Spider-Man in “Captain America: Civil War” in 2016, and since has played the role in three “Spider-Man” films for Sony plus two “Avengers” films for Disney.
The Astaire project could see Holland enter the prestige sphere for the first time as he would play the most famous dancer ever to grace the big screen. From 1932 to 1957, Astaire starred in 30 musicals, 10 of which were with his equally iconic dancing partner Ginger Rogers in classics like “Top Hat” and “Shall We Dance.” His choreography and screen presence would go on to inspire Michael Jackson during his career, most notably with the famous white suit the pop star wore for the music video of “Smooth Criminal.”
Jeremy Fuster contributed to this article.