Of all the famous musicians that resonate across generations, Elton John is among the most deserving of being the subject of a biopic. So much so, in fact, that in 2011, it was reported that John would be producing Rocketman, a musical biopic about his life. However, the project has hit a number of obstacles in the years since. With those delays have only come a scattering of updates, one of which was that a few years back, the Elton John biopic had tapped Tom Hardy to play the lead. However, now it’s been announced that Hardy is out, and Kingsman: The Secret Service’s Taron Egerton is lined up to play John instead.
According to The Daily Mail, Taron Egerton has been having conversations with Rocketman producers Matthew Vaughn (Egerton’s Kingsman director) and Dexter Fletcher about boarding the biopic to play Elton John. As for why Tom Hardy is no longer involved with the project, supposedly the Dunkirk star has trouble with singing, and since Egerton has no problem with belting out tunes, that makes him the worthier actor for the job. The Rocketman team is hoping to start shooting the movie before 2017 is finished, but whether or not they meet that goal will depend on if a deal can be reached with Egerton.
