Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley Join Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire Biopic

Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley are stepping into a major Hollywood dance story. The two performers have joined Tom Holland in Sony Pictures’ untitled Fred Astaire biopic, expanding a project that has been in development for nearly five years.

Holland will portray Astaire, while Carpenter has been cast as Ginger Rogers, his most famous screen partner. Qualley will play Adele Astaire, Fred’s older sister and original stage partner. Before his movie career, Fred and Adele became stars together on Broadway and in London’s West End.

A cast built around dance and performance

Paul King, the filmmaker behind Wonka and the first two Paddington movies, is directing. He co-wrote the screenplay with Steven Levenson, drawing from Kathleen Riley’s biography The Astaires: Fred & Adele. Riley is also serving as a story consultant.

The casting gives the film three performers with strong musical or movement backgrounds. Holland began his professional career in the London production of Billy Elliot the Musical. Carpenter arrives after a run of pop success and live performances, while Qualley trained in dance before building her screen career.

King said the movie will explore both Astaire’s celebrated work with Rogers and the less-preserved legacy of Adele. No known film footage survives of Fred and Adele dancing together, making the recreation of their stage partnership one of the production’s central challenges.

The Astaire family is involved

Fred Astaire’s daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, has publicly supported the film. Her son, Tyler McKenzie, is attached as a consultant and co-producer, giving the production a direct family connection as it revisits the siblings’ careers.

Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor are among the producers, alongside Holland through his Billy17 company and producers from Lightbulb Pictures. A release date has not yet been announced.

The film will cover a chapter that extends beyond Astaire’s classic Hollywood image. His partnership with Rogers remains central to movie history, but the addition of Qualley as Adele signals that Sony’s project also intends to restore attention to the sibling act that first made him a stage star.