Carpenter, Qualley Join Holland's Fred Astaire Biopic

On September 25, 2026, Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter joined Tom Holland's untitled Fred Astaire biopic for Sony Pictures, Deadline first reported. Qualley will play Adele Astaire, Fred's sister and early dance partner. Carpenter will play Ginger Rogers. Paul King directs from a script he wrote with Steven Levenson, based on Kathleen Riley's book The Astaires: Fred & Adele. Producers include Amy Pascal, Rachel O'Connor, Holland's Billy17, and Ben Holden and Josh Hyams of Lightbulb Pictures. Executive producers include Harry Holland, Will South, Will Clarke, Andy Mayson, and Steven Levenson. Ava Astaire McKenzie, Fred's 84-year-old daughter, supports the project; her son Tyler McKenzie is a consultant and co-producer. King said in a statement he was thrilled and honored to tell the story of Fred and his original partner Adele, whose work has been lost to history with no surviving dance footage, and that he could not imagine the challenge without Holland, Qualley, and Carpenter. Holland told Good Morning America he did his first few rehearsals recently and it filled him with excitement and absolute dread because he has so much work to do to try to do Fred proud. Holland first said he would play Astaire in 2021; King was confirmed as director in 2023. No contested facts appear in the record. A release date was not reported.