Tom Holland's long-awaited Fred Astaire biopic has completed its principal cast, with Margaret Qualley set to play Astaire's sister and original dance partner Adele, and Grammy-winning Sabrina Carpenter cast as his most famous collaborator, Ginger Rogers. The film, directed by Paul King and produced by Amy Pascal, aims to bring to the screen the life and legacy of one of cinema's greatest dancers whilst also honouring Adele's remarkable but historically overlooked Broadway and West End career.

The project, which has had Holland attached since 2021, draws from Kathleen Riley's biographical work "The Astaires: Fred & Adele". Holland, who began his career in "Billy Elliot the Musical" on London's West End, is committed to performing the majority of his own dance sequences in single takes, eschewing doubles to authentically capture Astaire's groundbreaking cinematic style. Fred Astaire's seven-decade career spanned over 30 film musicals and iconic partnerships with Rogers in classics including "Top Hat" (1935) and "Swing Time" (1936), whilst Adele's pioneering stage work has largely disappeared from the historical record, making the film's dual focus a significant undertaking for King and his creative team.