Sabrina Carpenter to Play Ginger Rogers in Astaire Biopic

Article

Tom Holland has found his dance partners. Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter have joined Sony Pictures' untitled Fred Astaire biopic, in which Holland plays the dancer and actor, Deadline reported exclusively on September 25. Variety confirmed the casting the same day. Qualley will play Adele Astaire, Fred's older sister and original dance partner. Carpenter will play Ginger Rogers, his most famous on-screen partner. Paul King directs Wonka and Paddington director Paul King is directing. He wrote the script with Steven Levenson, based on Kathleen Riley's book The Astaires: Fred & Adele . Riley is a script and story consultant, and Deadline notes that Micah Schraft wrote an earlier draft. "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," King said. "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." "The cinematic challenge of bringing to life these icons of the 20th century is one that I could not imagine without Tom Holland, Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter by my side," he added. The Astaire family's blessing Fred Astaire's daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, supports the project, and her son, Tyler McKenzie, is a consultant and co-producer, both outlets report. "I'm delighted to support this endeavor to celebrate the extraordinary careers and enduring legacy of my father and aunt, who were among the biggest musical stars of their era," Astaire McKenzie said. Tyler McKenzie added that the filmmaking team would bring that legacy "beautifully" to life "for a whole new generation." Key facts Film: untitled Fred Astaire biopic, Sony Pictures Fred Astaire: Tom Holland Adele Astaire: Margaret Qualley Ginger Rogers: Sabrina Carpenter Director: Paul King Writers: Steven Levenson and Paul King, from Kathleen Riley's The Astaires: Fred & Adele Producers: Amy Pascal and Rachel O'Connor (Pascal Pictures); Ben Holden and Josh Hyams (Lightbulb Pictures); Tom Holland (Billy17) Holland plans to dance it all himself Holland has been attached for five years, according to Variety. He began his career on the West End stage, playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical from 2008 to 2010. "I'm diving back into the dance studio," he said on Good Morning America , as quoted by Variety. "I have a desire to use no doubles, to do all of the dancing, to shoot those dances in one shot — how he would have done it." Variety reports that his summer releases, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey , are the two highest-grossing films of 2026. Deadline puts their worldwide totals at more than $2 billion and $1.72 billion respectively. Who the cast are playing Both outlets note that Fred and Adele Astaire were major stars on Broadway and London's West End before Fred became one of cinema's greatest stars with Rogers. Variety says he starred in more than 30 film musicals over a seven-decade career, and is best remembered for his pairings with Rogers in films including The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936). Deadline describes Carpenter as a two-time Grammy winner who recently earned her first Primetime Emmy nomination for The Muppet Show . She went on to win, as we reported in our Emmy story . Her earlier film credits include The Hate U Give and Work It . Qualley, a Golden Globe nominee for The Substance , also has Emmy nominations for Fosse/Verdon and Maid , Deadline says. King's track record Deadline points out that King directed the first two Paddington films, which together earned nearly $500 million worldwide, and executive produced Paddington in Peru. He is also writing a sequel to Wonka. What's next Sony has not announced a title or release date. Executive producers include Harry Holland and Will South (Billy17), Will Clarke and Andy Mayson (Altitude Films), and Levenson. Follow more film news and the road to the 99th Oscars on Entzopedia. Sources: Deadline | Variety