A five-year-old project is finally moving
Tom Holland first revealed he'd been cast as Fred Astaire back in 2021, and for years the project sat in that familiar Hollywood limbo where an actor keeps getting asked about a movie that doesn't seem to be actually happening. That changed this week: Sony's untitled Astaire biopic has added Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter to star opposite Holland, giving the long-gestating film its first real signs of momentum.
Qualley will play Adele Astaire, Fred's older sister and his first dance partner on Broadway and in the West End, long before Hollywood ever came calling. Carpenter takes on Ginger Rogers, the on-screen partner who helped make Astaire one of the most beloved stars in movie history.
Why the casting news is a bigger deal than it sounds
Paul King — the director behind Paddington and Wonka, both known for a very particular kind of warm, old-fashioned charm — is directing from a script by Steven Levenson, based on Kathleen Riley's biography The Astaires: Fred & Adele. Riley is also on board as a script and story consultant, which suggests the film is leaning toward accuracy over the loose, composite-character approach a lot of music biopics take.
The choice to center Adele Astaire alongside Fred is notable on its own. She was, by most accounts, just as significant a stage performer as her brother in their early years together, but almost no footage of her dancing survives — meaning much of what audiences will see of her in the film is necessarily an act of reconstruction rather than recreation.
The pressure is on Carpenter more than anyone
Qualley's casting makes sense on paper — she's built a reputation for serious physical performance work, with an Emmy nomination for Fosse/Verdon and acclaim for The Substance. Carpenter is the bigger swing. She's currently one of pop music's biggest names, but stepping into Ginger Rogers means matching an icon who redefined on-screen chemistry and dance partnership, which is a very different challenge than anything on a pop tour setlist.
Holland, for his part, has said repeatedly that he intends to do all of his own dancing rather than relying on a double — including shooting full routines in single unbroken takes, the way Astaire himself insisted on filming. He's not coming in from a completely cold start, having played the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical on the West End as a child, but matching Astaire's precision is a different order of difficulty entirely.
Not everyone thinks this movie should exist
There's a wrinkle here worth being upfront about: Fred Astaire was reportedly firm, during his lifetime, that he didn't want a biopic made about him. That's fueled some pushback online since the casting news broke, with critics arguing it feels uneasy to move forward on a project its subject explicitly didn't want.
The film does have backing from Astaire's surviving family, however. His daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, said in a statement that she was glad the story was "in the best care" given Riley's biography as its foundation, and her son, Tyler McKenzie, is a consultant and co-producer on the project. Whether that family blessing settles the ethical question for skeptics is very much still being argued out in comment sections.
What's still unknown
The film remains untitled, and Sony hasn't announced a release date. Given that Holland only recently described starting dance rehearsals and the cast has just come together, a 2026 release is very unlikely — this is a project still very much in pre-production rather than close to release.
What is clear is the ambition behind it: a director known for careful, old-world charm, a screenwriter and biographer working from primary research rather than Wikipedia-deep shortcuts, and a lead actor publicly committing to the kind of single-take dance sequences that made Astaire's films distinctive in the first place. Whether it can pull off matching one of the most technically demanding performers in film history is the real question the next couple of years will answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is playing Fred Astaire in the upcoming biopic?
Tom Holland is starring as Fred Astaire in Sony's untitled biopic, a role he first announced in 2021.
Who else is in the Fred Astaire biopic cast?
Margaret Qualley plays Adele Astaire, Fred's sister and original dance partner, and Sabrina Carpenter plays Ginger Rogers, his famous on-screen dance partner.
Who is directing the Fred Astaire biopic?
Paul King, known for Paddington and Wonka, is directing from a screenplay by Steven Levenson based on Kathleen Riley's biography The Astaires: Fred & Adele.
Did Fred Astaire's family approve the biopic?
Yes. His daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie and grandson Tyler McKenzie, who is a consultant and co-producer on the film, have both publicly voiced support for the project.
When does the Fred Astaire biopic come out?
No release date has been announced. The film remains untitled and is still in the casting and pre-production stage.
