Biopic movies are everywhere: we just can’t get enough, it seems, of seeing the lives of our favourite famous faces portrayed on screen. They’re hard to resist: who will play the main part? How will they transform into the role? And what parts of their life- public and private- will be depicted? We’ve had some good ones over the past few years, with the most recent one being Timothée Chalamet taking on the role of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. We’ve put together a list of some of the most high-profile biopics that are releasing soon and in development, and some of the famous names attached.  

Deliver Me From Nowhere

Emmy award-winning actor and star of The Bear Jeremy Allen White steps into the shoes of The Boss in perhaps this year’s most anticipated biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere. The film is set to follow Bruce Springsteen in the early 80s, while he was working on his acclaimed album Nebraska, before he became the global music superstar he is today. But according to the official synopsis, he’ll also be battling ghosts of the past and the complicated relationship he had with his father (played by Stephen Graham).

Michael

A biopic of Michael Jackson has long been in the works, and will finally see the light of day next year in the form of Michael, starring the singer’s own nephew,Jaafar Jackson. The expansive story is set to span all the way from Jackson’s early years as a child star with the Jackson 5, his early solo music in the 1970s, and the zenith of his fame in the 80s and 90s. There’ll be all the singing and dancing you’d expect from a King of Pop biopic, along with an expansive cast including Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, Nia Long and Laura Harrier. The film won’t be released until mid-2026, and according to reports may be split into two parts.

The Smashing Machine

Dwayne Johnson is mostly known for his big, epic action movies where he dispatches villains with one-liners- but his upcoming film The Smashing Machine looks to be a departure from all that. Going back to his wrestling roots, Johnson will be taking on the part of Mark Kerr, an amateur wrestler and MMA fighter, and is sporting fairly transformative prosthetics to play him. Set to arrive in cinemas later this year from A24, the film will follow Kerr’s career in the ring, as well as his issues with substance abuse and serious injuries. Emily Blunt will star as his wife, and the project is being directed by Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer).

Christy

Sydney Sweeney will also be playing a famous fighter, with the actress to star as Christy Martin, a pro boxer, in the biopic Christy. The film will be debuting later this year and follows the boxer’s sports career in the 1990s, as she becomes the most famous female boxer in America. The actress has revealed previews of her transformation into the role on social media, sporting boxing gloves and a mullet. The movie also covers how Martin would unfortunately be pushed back into the limelight in 2010, when her husband attempted to murder her with a knife and a gun in a highly publicised incident.

Madonna

The on-again, off-again Madonna biopic is another film that’s still some way off, but is still happening, according to its attached star Julia Garner. During a recent interview, Garner confirmed that the project was going ahead after being reportedly scrapped, and that she will be playing Madonna. The biopic is thought to cover the iconic singer’s life as she hit it big in the 80s and 90s, becoming a pop sensation. Vogue, Express Yourself, Like A Virgin– expect it all to be the musical backdrop of the film when it releases, very possibly with Madonna herself as director.

The Social Network Part II

The Social Network became one of the most lauded films of the 2010s, and in many ways, set the bar for biopics to come. Given how much has happened with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook since, a further development of the story makes sense. Writer of the previous film, Aaron Sorkin, is working on a follow-up project that essentially works as a sequel to the original, though it’s unknown whether Jesse Eisenberg will return. Facebook, and the rebranded parent company Meta, has been criticised in recent years for its role in political affairs and elections, as well as the impact it’s had on society. Names like Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison and Jeremy Strong are reportedly in talks for the film.

Tony

The life of Anthony Bourdain was a fascinating one, with the renowned and beloved chef having revealed much of it in the seminal book Kitchen Confidential and in his travel shows. His unfiltered and magnetic personality will be channelled in a new biopic, Tony, starring Dominic Sessa, best known for his breakout role in comedy drama The Holdovers. Rather than focus on his years touring the globe and writing about it in the 2000s, the biopic will get to the roots of Bourdain’s cooking prowess by focusing on an early period of his life, living and working in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1976. Antonio Banderas has also been cast in the film.

Elon Musk

Controversial, admired or loathed, Elon Musk is a major figure of our current times, regardless of what you think of him. The world’s richest man and a leading figure in Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter/X is pretty well suited for a biopic, and one is on the way. Darren Aronofsky, known for films like Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream, will be directing, and the story will draw from the book Elon Musk written by Walter Isaacson, whose book on Steve Jobs was turned into the film starring Michael Fassbender. The film will reportedly focus on the eccentric mogul’s rise to fame and power.

The Beatles

How do you do a biopic on John, Paul, George and Ringo when all four are as iconic as they are and so much of The Beatles’ story is so well known? By making four separate biopics- and that’s exactly what 1917 and Skyfall director Sam Mendes is doing with his Beatles project. The four movies will focus on each individual member of the band, with Paul Mescal playing Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson playing John Lennon, Joseph Quinn playing George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan playing Ringo Starr. It’s not known yet what periods of their lives it’ll cover, or how each film will connect, but there’s a while to wait, anyway: the films won’t be released until 2028.

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire movie is another that has been in development for a long time, yet is still on track for release. Holland, who has spoken of his fondness for dancing and has plenty of experience from playing Billy Elliot, will need to bring all his footwork skills to the role. Astaire was an acclaimed legend of the screen and one of the most iconic dancers of the 20th century, partnered with Ginger Rogers and starring in films like Top Hat and Holiday Inn with Judy Garland. But Holland is not the only actor set to play the dancer- Jamie Bell, who, funnily enough, is also a Brit and also starred in Billy Elliot, is attached to play Astaire in a separate biopic currently in the works. There’s some extra star power for that one, with Margaret Qualley set to star opposite as Ginger Rogers.


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