Elton John biopic 'Rocketman' set for May 2019 release

Paramount Pictures has announced that the Elton John biopic Rocketman will be released in May 2019 in the major markets.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher, the film got a finance and distribution deal last month and goes into production in August.

Sir Elton is co-producing with his husband David Furnish through their 12-year old Rocket Pictures, along with Matthew Vaughn’s Marv Films.

Taron Egerton, who plays Sir Elton, will also be taking on vocal duties on his songs in the soundtrack.

His credits include Kingsman: The Secret Service and the forthcoming Robin Hood.

The piano-playing superstar initially wanted Justin Timberlake to play him, and then Tom Hardy was also in the scenario for some time.

Fletcher replaced Bryan Singer to direct the November-due Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Lee Hall’s script will cover his early days as a lonely only child prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music when he was still Reg Dwight, and then emerged as a full-blown superstar after meeting his writing partner Bernie Taupin and went on to sell 300 million records.

Both Fletcher and Egerton have said that Rocketman is more a “musical fantasy” than a biopic.

Fletcher says, “We have Elton’s songs and Elton’s life story, or a part of it.

“And it is a fantasy version of real life. It is a true fantasy.

“So I am looking to create something that will entertain and inform and amaze and do many, many things. It is just literally at the beginning now.”

However, he would not comment on how much of Sir Elton’s colourful personal life would make it onto the big screen.