Tom Holland, Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley set for Fred Astaire biopic

Tom Holland, Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter are set to star in an upcoming Fred Astaire biopic.

Holland will play Astaire, with Qualley portraying his sister and original dance partner Adele Astaire and Carpenter playing Ginger Rogers.

The film will be directed by Paul King, who most recently helmed Wonka and the first two Paddington films. King is writing the screenplay with Steven Levenson, based on Kathleen Riley’s book The Astaires: Fred & Adele. Riley is also serving as a script and story consultant.

The film will follow Fred and Adele Astaire’s careers on Broadway and in London’s West End before Fred went on to become one of Hollywood’s leading stars, most famously alongside Rogers. No footage survives of Adele dancing.

The project is produced by Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor, Holland for Billy17, and Ben Holden and Josh Hyams for Lightbulb Pictures. Executive producers are Harry Holland and Will South for Billy17, Will Clarke and Andy Mayson for Altitude Films, and Levenson.

Fred Astaire’s daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, is supporting the project, while her son Tyler McKenzie is a consultant and co-producer.

King said: “I am thrilled and honored to have been entrusted with telling the story of Fred Astaire and his original dance partner — his big sister Adele — to the big screen. Fred left a timeless legacy of dance on film, most famously in his collaborations with Ginger Rogers, while Adele’s work has been lost to history; indeed, no footage of her dancing survives.”