The New 'Rocketman' Trailer Brings Elton John's Rise To Stardom To The Big Screen

On Thursday, Feb. 21, Paramount released the first full-length trailer for the Elton John biopic Rocketman, and, much like the musician himself, it is completely spectacular from beginning to end. While there is much to take in from the film's inaugural sneak peek, Taron Egerton's singing in Rocketman is one major highlight that fans won't want to miss. It has already been confirmed that Egerton, who also showed off his singing voice in the animated film Sing, is singing in the film, and to say that his vocal resemblance to John is uncanny would be an understatement.

The clip for Rocketman provides what appears to be a great synopsis of the film, which is due to hit U.S. theaters on May 31 of 2019. It not only outlines John's meteoric rise to fame, but also details his metamorphosis into one the world's biggest and most recognized superstars. A summary of the movie from Paramount pegs Rocketman to be “an epic musical fantasy about the uncensored human story of Elton John’s breakthrough years." As shown in the trailer, the biopic will follow John's early beginnings as Reginald Dwight, a shy and awkward youngster born outside of London, and his transformation into the raucous stage personality that became Elton John, the superstar. The film also touches on his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin, as well as his battle with addiction and the struggles of being a gay entertainer during the '70s.

Egerton, who quite literally steps into John's famous platform shoes in the film, notably performed all own his singing vocals, according to Indiewire, and he sounds eerily similar to the famous artist. The actor's rendition of John’s 1972 classic, “Tiny Dancer” in the trailer is particularly spot on.

Egerton's aptitude for bringing the singer's music to life was, in fact, so great that it reportedly even won over John himself, according to the film's producer Giles Martin. “Elton said, ‘I don’t think I’ve heard anyone sing my songs better than Taron,'” Martin explained during a behind the scenes feature for the biopic. And, in addition to bringing John's voice to life, Egerton also bears an uncanny resemblance to the singer, which certainly helps bring a strong sense of reality to the film.

John's overwhelming support for the biopic will also no doubt prove to be a huge factor in bringing a great deal of authenticity to the narrative. This past September, John posted a first look photo of Egerton in the film on his official Instagram page. He captioned the post, "Hold on to your glasses, this is going to be a wild ride!! Here’s Taron Egerton (portraying me!) on the set of the #Rocketman movie. 🚀 #film #comingsoon." The singer was, of course, involved in the making of Rocketman, and is credited as an executive producer on IMDB.

It's unclear if John had any influence on casting Egerton in the role. However, the two have crossed paths before. They both appeared in 2017's Kingsman: The Golden Circle together.

In addition to Egerton, Rocketman stars Richard Madden as John’s first manager, John Reid, Bryce Dallas Howard as the musician’s mother, Sheila Farebrother, and Jamie Bell as John's frequent collaborator, Bernie Taupin, according to Rolling Stone. And, if Egerton's spot-on portrayal in the trailer is any indication, it seems that fans can look forward to the entire cast bringing their A-game.