In 2026, Tom Holland has held down the Ithacan fort — and fired an arrow or two — in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, thwipped into action alongside
In 2026, Tom Holland has held down the Ithacan fort — and fired an arrow or two — in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, thwipped into action alongside The Punisher and faced down a Savage Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and done a Pepsi advert with footballing GOAT Lionel Messi. But as we reported back in July, the in-demand actor isn’t stopping there — he’s already limbering up to finally make his long-gestating Fred Astaire biopic with Wonka director Paul King. And now Deadline has confirmed that the project has just cast actor-turned-pop-megastar Sabrina Carpenter and The Substance‘s Margaret Qualley in two pivotal roles.
Set to be directed by King from a script by Fosse/Verdon and the Tick, Tick… BOOM! movie writer Steven Levenson, we’ve long since known that this Fred Astaire biopic is expected to centre around the legendary performer’s relationship with sister Adele Astaire, tracing their journey from straightforward midwestern Vaudeville act to Broadway, the West End, and beyond — first together as a duo, then apart, as Adele settled down while Fred’s star ascended alongside recent partner Ginger Rogers to the Hollywood heights. And now we know that Qualley — a classically trained ballet dancer in her own right — will play the Adele to Holland’s Fred Astaire, while triple-threat talent Carpenter is on board to play the iconic Ginger Rogers. And the duo are in good company with Holland, whose career started in the West End’s Billy Elliot and whose formidable moves have been evident in everything from his Spider-Man acrobatics to that viral ‘Umbrella’ lip sync battle.
Based on the book The Astaires: Fred & Adele by Kathleen Riley, King’s Fred Astaire biopic has been in development for a solid half a decade at this point. But with Holland coming fresh from a sensational summer both critically and commercially, two massive stars now aligning with him to bring his passion project to life, and the man who gave us Paddington at the helm, it seems now really is the time to bust out the Top Hat and get ready for a Hot Fred Summer… coming soon to a cinema near you.
