There’s a certain music biopic that came out last year, was a massive hit, and is in the middle of the awards race at the moment, and yet its star is simply lip syncing the songs made famous by the film’s subject. That won't be the case with the upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman, in which we'll get to see the film’s star tackling the songs all by himself.
A new behind-the-scenes featuette for Rocketman zeroes in on this fact, as it allows us to watch and hear Taron Egerton’s rendition of “Tiny Dancer.” And it’s good! Elton John has a pretty singular voice, but what we’ve heard thus far from Rocketman is pretty promising, as Egerton appears to really nail what made John so special. And those who saw Sing already know that Egerton has a terrific voice.
The film has been in the works for a long while, and at one point Tom Hardy was attached to play Elton John. But I think things probably worked out as they should have so that Egerton could come in and really nail the singing ability. He’s also a terrific actor to boot, and I’m excited to see how this film differs from Bohemian Rhapsody. Curiously enough, the director of Rocketman—Dexter Fletcher—was previously attached to Bohemian Rhapsody and fell off the project, only to be asked to come in and finish the movie when the film’s director Bryan Singer was fired during production. So with Rocketman, we get to see Fletcher’s full artistic vision for a music biopic.
Check out the new Rocketman featurette and poster below. The film also stars Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Gemma Jones, and Bryce Dallas Howard. Rocketman opens in theaters on May 31st.
Here’s the official synopsis for Rocketman:
ROCKETMAN is an epic musical fantasy about the incredible human story of Elton John’s breakthrough years. The film follows the fantastical journey of transformation from shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John. This inspirational story – set to Elton John’s most beloved songs and performed by star Taron Egerton – tells the universally relatable story of how a small-town boy became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. ROCKETMAN also stars Jamie Bell as Elton’s longtime lyricist and writing partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as Elton’s first manager, John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s mother Sheila Farebrother.
