In the wake of Rami Malek’s triumphant portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, all eyes in the film world are trained on the upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman. And, indeed, the newly released official trailer for Rocketman takes us through some familiar biographical plot points: aspiring singer reinvents himself by taking on a flashy stage name and becomes an incredible flamboyant success despite being a closeted gay man in the hyper-macho world of rock and roll. As an established showman informs a young Elton John in the Rocketman trailer, “You’ve got to kill the person you were born to be in order to become the person you want to be.”
Malek was certainly effective at bringing Mercury to life, but Taron Egerton may just bring an extra dose of humanity to his portrayal of John – no small feat for an actor who is currently best known for his work in the larger-than-life Kingsman franchise.