Jamie Bell in talks to join Taron Egerton in Elton John biopic Rocketman

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The upcoming ROCKETMAN will tell the story of musical legend Elton John, charting his growth from a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to becoming a global superstar. Said to be an "unvarnished rock n' roll biopic with John's life stripped back of the glitter," ROCKETMAN will also dive into Elton's musical partnership with his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin. Speaking of Taupin, Variety reports that Jamie Bell (Turn) is currently in negotiations to play the famed songwriter.

Bernie Taupin began collaborating on songs with Elton John back in the 60s', and the pair would go on to work together on songs like "Crocodile Rock," "Honky Cat," "Tiny Dancer," "Candle in the Wind," "Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting," "Bennie and the Jets," and "Rocket Man." Taron Egerton (KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE) will star as Elton John in the Dexter Fletcher directed film which, despite appearances, won't be a traditional biopic but rather a "fantasy musical," or at least, that's how Egerton put it when he spoke with Collider earlier this year.

We are making a movie called Rocketman about Elton John’s formative years. Everyone thinks it’s a bio-pic. It isn’t. It’s a fantasy musical so it’s actually his songs used to express important beats in his life at emotional moments. He’s not the only character that sings. It’s going to be fun.

Taron Egerton added that he's been doing all he can in order to create "some semblance of a performance" to live up to Elton John's legacy, which will include singing live on set while they're filming. "I’m going to do it all. I’m going to do it on set as well. We’re going to use a variety of techniques but I will always be singing on set," Egerton said. "No miming. I’m just not interested in doing it that way."

Taron Egerton also took to Twitter today to drop a small ROCKETMAN tease.