After swinging through Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland will step back into his roots for a new biopic set to film next year.
After Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey from February to August 2025, Holland went straight into filming his fourth Spider-Man movie from August to December 2025, and will promote both movies leading up to their July 2026 release dates. Back in December 2021, Tom Holland confirmed that he would be playing Fred Astaire in a biopic, though progress has been quite slow over the years.
Now, a new profile by GQ confirms that, later in 2026, Holland will shoot a “smaller” and still-under-wraps project before potentially beginning work in January 2027 on the long-gestating Fred Astaire biopic that he has been developing. After these upcoming projects, Holland plans to take the rest of the year off and avoid overworking. Read his full comments below:
Then take the rest of the year to just let the dust settle. I don’t want to fall into the same mistakes I made as a young kid, which is this insatiable desire to just work, work, work, work, work. I want to work on the right projects with the right people. So I think just kind of: one day at a time.
During a recent appearance on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast (via @thollandrchives on X), Holland also revealed that he did his first dance rehearsal for the Fred Astaire biopic last week and reaffirmed that the film will begin shooting next year. Read his full comments or watch the portion of the video below:
It comes at a very interesting time because last week I did my first. Dance rehearsal for the Fred Astaire movie that we’re doing in next year. It’s funny. Like, I don’t find myself getting that nervous anymore for things, you know, because you do it so often and it becomes second nature and it feels like another day at the office. But I went to Pineapple Dance Studios, which is where I trained as a kid when we were doing Billy Elliot. I was with the director of the movie and the choreographer of the movie.
And I was petrified because I’d been telling this guy, this director, Paul King, I said, don’t worry, bro. Like I can dance. I’m a dancer, dancer. Right. And we get there and it’s a, you know, a bare room with a hardwood floor. I’ve got tap shoes on. First time I’ve worn tap shoes in 15 years. Wow. And immediately I’m like, wow, my feet feel like shit in these shoes. Yeah. And he kind of was a little bit like, okay. Show me what you got.
And I went over to the computer and I Googled the Billy Elliot music and was like, I’m either going to do something amazing here or I’m really going to shoot myself in the foot. And I played the song. And what was so amazing is how it really does live in you, you know, like the music started and then it all started coming back and I could see the lights, I could see the audience. And without even having to think of what the first step was, it just happened naturally. Now… If I did the dance like I did last week in front of my Billy Elliot choreographers when I was a kid, they probably would have buried me. Yeah. Because it was horrendous.Yeah, they would be really upset. But it was really, it was really exciting. And I’ve been very nervous about the idea of making that film just because, you know, it’s going to be a huge undertaking from a prep point of view. And it’s also a big risk, I think. You know, it’s a big movie.
I’m really excited. But after that rehearsal… Any fears I had or any questions of like, should I be making this movie completely left the room. Because I think my biggest regret in my career so far is that when I finished that show, I quit dancing. And I just, you know, would dance in a club or something like that, but wouldn’t go and take class. And the thing I love most about my job is that you can book a film and learn all of these amazing skills from the best people in the business. And to be able to do that again. Pick up dancing from square one and try to get back into it. I think it’s going to be so fulfilling.
Back in December 2021, Tom Holland confirmed he was cast in the Fred Astaire biopic movie while promoting Spider-Man: No Way Home, saying, “Oh I am playing Fred Astaire, yeah. I am – the script came in a week ago. I haven’t read it yet, they haven’t given it to me, I know that Amy Pascal has the script. She Face Timed me earlier, I was in the bath and we had a lovely Face Time. But I will be playing Fred Astaire.”
Shortly after that, Tom Holland was confident in his tap dancing skills heading into the Fred Astaire movie, saying during an interview:
I guess I’m going to have to, you know, dust off the old tap shoes, go back to Pineapple Dance Studios, and I’ll start taking some tap lessons. You know, I am quite a good tap dancer, it’s something I’ve done for a very, very long time, so it’s something I’m sure I’ll be able to pick up. Fred Astaire does have a very particular style – you know, Billy Elliot was very much a kind of, like, scuffy-boot kind of tap dancer, whereas he is very elegant and graceful, so I’ll probably have to learn how to do that. But it’s something I’m going to practice, something I’m very excited for, and I think it’ll be a fantastic film.
However, after two years of silence, Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire biopic received an encouraging update from director Paul King, including who is involved with writing the script and the current stage of development for the film:
We’re working on a script right now. I’m working on a script with Lee Hall, who’s a great, great, great writer, a great screenwriter. And he’s incredibly well versed in the era and he’s historically, incredibly knowledgeable as well. Clearly, he knows his dance inside and out. So, I’ve been working with him and learning a huge amount. But again, it’s like we’re trying to find the story in the script and hopefully something will happen. But, we’ll see.
The Fred Astaire biopic represents a return to Tom Holland’s roots, as his career started at age nine when he joined a dance class. There, a choreographer spotted his talent and helped him land an audition for Billy Elliot the Musical. Following two years of intensive training, he earned a supporting role in 2008 before being promoted to the lead role later that year, a role he performed through 2010.
Now, it seems that after a lifetime of preparing and years of development on the project, Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire biopic is finally ready to start shooting next year.
-
- Birthdate
-
May 10, 1899
- Birthplace
-
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
- Notable Projects
-
Funny Face, Top Hat, Swing Time
-
- Birthdate
-
June 1, 1996
- Birthplace
-
Kingston upon Thames, London, England
- Height
-
5 feet 8 inches
- Notable Projects
-
Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Far from Home
- Professions
-
Actor, Dancer
- First On-Screen Role
-
The Impossible
Discover the latest news and filmography for Tom Holland, known for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Uncharted.
