Rocketman, Paramount’s Elton John biopic turned musical is expected to be a grittier, more realistic version of the singers life and is set to be rated R and will include an intimate love scene between Taron Egerton, who plays the English singer, and Richard Madden, who portrays John’s former manager and lover, John Reid, two sources close to the film told The Hollywood Reporter.
Director of the appropriately titled Rocketman Dexter Fletcher is in the midst of editing the film, which is slated for release in the U.S. on May 31.
After test screenings for Rocketman were done, it has received scores in the high 80s for the $40 million film, a promising sign for an unfinished musical that grapples with some challenging themes, including John’s drug addiction.
In regards to the raw approach to the film, filmmakers and Paramount are in discussions about the love scene, which includes the F-word several times, brief rear nudity, and someone snorting cocaine, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Director Dexter Fletcher’s last assignment seemed to impress Paramount executives, as he played crisis control director by stepping in for the last three weeks of principal production on Bohemian Rhapsody after Fox fired troubling director Bryan Singer. The producers’ decision to release the Queen biopic as a PG-13 film and seemed to come off as only showing the bright side of Freddy Mercury rubbed critics and audiences the wrong way. But financially, it didn’t seem to matter as Bohemian Rhapsody scored over 850 million dollars at the worldwide box office.
More will be announced about Rocketman as we near closer to the release date.
