Rocketman set for Cannes debut?

With an official release date on 24 May the omens look promising for a Cannes bow for Rocketman Photo: Paramount

Although it is 10 days away from the official announcement of the Cannes Film Festival programme (to be announced in Paris on 18 April) the crystal ball gazers are preparing to go in to overdrive. The latest punt to hit the ether, courtesy of the trade magazine Hollywood Reporter, is that the Elton John extravaganza Rocketman with Taron Egerton as the star will be heading for the south of France.

The festival organisers have remained characteristically tight-lipped at any rumours but the magazine suggests that the film’s release date of 24 May (31 May in the US) makes it a shoo-in for the selection and forecasts that the screening and associated parties will be among the hottest tickets in this year’s edition, which runs from 14 to 25 May.

The musical bio-pic is directed by Dexter Fletcher who stepped in to finished Bohemian Rhapsody following Bryan Singer’s exit. Excerpts from the Paramount production have had taster screenings at a cinema trade fair in Las Vegas with the footage showing the star’s early days at the Royal Academy of Music as well as scenes of his first US concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

As already flagged in these columns, another hot contender for Cannes is Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Watch the trailer below: