This project has taken a while to find the right notes (sorry). Brewing since at least 2011, it seems that finding the right person tackle the personality, sequins and sunglasses of Elton John has been the struggle to get this thing going. At one point, Justin Timberlake was eyed as a possibility, but that didn’t seem right at all. Then this past spring, “Rocketman” was floated Tom Hardy‘s way by producers who thought he would be a good fit. We think he is a good fit too, and better yet, so does he.
Hardy is now confirmed for the lead role in the biopic, while Focus Features has landed the U.S. distribution rights for the flick as well (so any worries that it would become a soulless, genre label can rest easy for now). The project very much involves John himself, who worked on the script with Lee Hall, covering his childhood, musical partnership with Bernie Taupin, his rise to fame, various controversies and much more. Dude has lived a life and then some.
But again, we really dig Hardy for the lead. It’s a great chance to see him do something completely, wildly different than what we’ve seen from him before and Elton John, as a character, is a pretty fascinating one to disappear into. That said, production isn’t slated to start until fall 2014. [The Wrap]