Taron Egerton in the frame for Elton John biopic - report

Written by . Published: July 14 2017

Kingsman star Taron Egerton is reportedly in talks to play Elton John in a biopic.


Taron has been having informal conversations with the film's producer Matthew Vaughn and its director Dexter Fletcher about playing Elton, according to editors at Britain's Daily Mail newspaper.

The 27-year-old actor has worked with both men before, as he played another bespectacled British icon, hapless winter sportsman Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards in a 2016 film directed by Dexter, while Matthew has directed both films in the Kingsman superspy franchise.

Elton reportedly struck up a rapport with Matthew while filming a cameo for the forthcoming Kingsman movie, The Golden Circle.

A spokesperson for Matthew confirmed to the newspaper that he and the singer's production companies were collaborating on the biopic.

Taron is a talented singer who demonstrated his vocal abilities in animated musical comedy Sing, however, his publicist told WENN that they had no information on whether he was close to being cast.

The movie, provisionally titled Rocketman, has been in the works since 2013, when it was set to star Tom Hardy. It will reportedly be a warts and all biopic covering Elton's rise-to-fame as one of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s, his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin.

"The public likes a flawed genius," a source close to the production told the Mail. "And don't forget new generations are being introduced to songs he wrote decades ago."

Lee Hall, who worked with Elton on Billy Elliot the Musical, has reportedly written the script for the movie.