Chris Evans to play Gene Kelly in new movie

Chris Evans, of Captain America and Knives Out fame, is set to play Gene Kelly in a new flick based on the life of the musical extraordinaire.

Kelly, who appeared in iconic movie musicals such as Singing' in the Rain, An American in Paris and On the Town, began his career on stage in the likes of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Time of Your Life and Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey, and many of his big-screen projects have since found their way into theatres.

John Logan (Red) will pen the new movie, which is about a young kid in the 1950s who dreams big and eventually forms an imagined friendship with Kelly. Evans concocted the idea, according to Deadline.

The actor is said to be a big musical theatre fan (having played Randolph MacAfee in the musical Bye Bye Birdie as a child. He made his Broadway debut in the play Lobby Hero in 2018.

Evans was previously said to be orbiting the role of dentist Orin in a new remake of Little Shop of Horrors, though the status of that project is unknown.

No release date has been revealed yet. Last month it was revealed that Tom Holland will play Fred Astaire in another biopic.

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