It's almost time to launch ourselves into the musical fantasy that is Rocketman.
The biopic based on the life on Elton John and from Bohemian Rhapsody director Dexter Fletcher stars Taron Egerton in the role of the iconic singer-songwriter.
However, Tom Hardy was originally attached to play the role of John and now producers on the film have revealed why this changed.
Producer Matthew Vaughn discussed why he was eager to get involved in the film with The Hollywood Reporter .
Vaughn revealed: "I said, “Look, I don’t understand how this hasn’t been made, and if you want me to team up with you, I’m in."
However, Vaughn wasn't keen on Hardy playing the role of John for two important reasons.
"I really think Tom Hardy is one of the best actors, but I felt he was too old for the role [Hardy is now 41]," he explained. "And two, they said the idea was Tom was going to lip-sync."
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Egerton ended up being cast as John, having previously worked with Vaughn on his action film Kingsman, which catapulted Egerton to stardom.
The British actor also ended up singing John's songs himself, which is something that drew the support of John himself and husband David Furnish.
"John and Furnish were on the fence because they had Tom Hardy attached, but when they heard Taron sing, it was like a no brainer. They were like, “OK, he’s unbelievable.”"
Producer Giles Martin also added: "Elton said, “I don’t think I've heard anyone sing my songs better than Taron.”"
That's quite the glowing review!
Not long until we get to judge Egerton's performance for ourselves!
Rocketman is released in UK cinemas on May 22, 2019.
