Screen Daily is reporting that Johnny Flynn (Beast) is set to play the music icon David Bowie in a new biopic entitled Stardust, where he’ll star alongside Jena Malone (The Neon Demon) and Marc Meron (GLOW).
Stardust is being directed by Gabriel Range (I Am Slave, Death of a President) from a script by Christopher Bell, and the film “will chronicle the young David Bowie’s first visit to the US in 1971 – a trip that inspired the invention of his iconic alter ego Ziggy Stardust. It will chart his transformation into one of the most iconic and boundary-pushing superstars in music history.”
Flynn has a musical background himself, having first come to attention through his band Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit. He has since starred in Beast, along with the Channel 4/Netflix series Lovesick, Nat Geo’s Genius, and the BBC’s Les Miserables.
Screen Daily’s report states that “the project will feature a wide soundtrack including certain Bowie performances”. However that doesn’t appear to match up with comments from Bowie’s son, director Duncan Jones, who has taken to Twitter to criticise the planned biopic:
“I think this journalist needs to do some investigative reporting,” said Jones. “Pretty certain nobody has been granted music rights for ANY biopic… I would know. I’m not saying this movie is not happening. I honestly wouldn’t know. I’m saying that as it stands, this movie won’t have any of dad’s music in it, and I can’t imagine that changing. If you want to see a biopic without his music or the family’s blessing, that’s up to the audience.”
