Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter are joining Tom Holland in Sony’s Fred Astaire movie, filling two pivotal roles in the story of the famed dancer’s stage and film partnerships.
Qualley will portray Adele Astaire, Fred’s older sister and his Broadway partner. Carpenter has been cast as Ginger Rogers, who frequently co-starred with Astaire on film. Holland will play Fred Astaire.
Paul King, the filmmaker behind Paddington, is directing. The project follows Holland’s big summer as the star of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey.
Adele Astaire’s story moves into the spotlight
King said the film will explore both Astaire’s enduring screen legacy and the work he shared with Adele, whose dancing was not preserved on film.
“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 in a statement.
The director also pointed to the different historical records surrounding Astaire’s collaborations with Adele and Rogers.
“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,” King said. “The cinematic challenge of bringing to life these icons of the twentieth century is one that I could not imagine without Tom Holland, Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter by my side.”
King co-wrote the screenplay with Steven Levenson. Their script is based on Kathleen Riley’s book The Astaires: Fred & Adele.
The team behind the Sony project
Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor are producing the film, with Holland also producing on behalf of Billy17. Ben Holden and Josh Hyams are producing for Lightbulb Pictures.
Qualley arrives at the project with a run of awards recognition across film and television. She received Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for The Substance and an Emmy nomination for FX’s Fosse/Verdon.
Her work in the Netflix limited series The Maid also brought Emmy, Golden Globe, Actor and Critics Choice nominations. Qualley is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content and Sloane and Offer.
Carpenter joins the film after major success in music, including two Grammys and millions of records sold. Her previous acting credits include Work It and The Hate U Give.
She is represented by Paradigm, Foundation Media Partners, Volara Management, Perlman Management Group and Goodman Genow.
With Qualley playing Astaire’s first dance partner and Carpenter taking on his frequent film co-star, the project brings together the two collaborations specifically highlighted by King: the Broadway partnership with Adele and the screen work with Rogers.