Sabrina Carpenter as Ginger Rogers is set for Sony Pictures’ untitled Fred Astaire biopic, opposite Tom Holland as Astaire and Margaret Qualley as Adele Astaire. The casting gives the film its three central performers while clarifying how director Paul King is connecting Astaire’s stage partnership with his sister to his later Hollywood work with Rogers.
Key Takeaways
- Sabrina Carpenter has been cast as Ginger Rogers opposite Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire
- Margaret Qualley will play Adele Astaire, Fred’s older sister and original stage partner
- Paul King is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Steven Levenson, based on Kathleen Riley’s The Astaires: Fred & Adele
- Holland has begun dance rehearsals and has said he wants to perform the film’s dance sequences without doubles
Sabrina Carpenter as Ginger Rogers will bring one of Hollywood’s best-known dance partnerships into a film whose source material is centered on Fred and Adele Astaire. The casting was reported Sept. 25, 2026, alongside Qualley’s addition as Adele, giving the long-developing Sony project a clearer shape after Holland had been attached to play Fred Astaire since 2021.
King has said the story involves two different performance legacies. “Fred left a timeless legacy of dance on film,” he said, while contrasting Fred’s extensive screen record with Adele Astaire’s largely unpreserved dance career. King said no known footage survives of Adele dancing, making the sibling partnership a different historical challenge from Fred’s later work with Rogers.
The film is based on Kathleen Riley’s 2012 biography The Astaires: Fred & Adele. King and Steven Levenson wrote the screenplay, while Riley is serving as a script and story consultant. Fred Astaire’s daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, has publicly supported the production, and her son Tyler McKenzie is involved as a consultant and co-producer.
Sabrina Carpenter as Ginger Rogers Expands the Central Cast
Carpenter’s role places her in a part with an unusually well-documented screen history. Astaire and Rogers appeared together in 10 films between 1933 and 1949, with The Barkleys of Broadway marking their final movie together. Their collaborations also included Top Hat and Swing Time. Rogers later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Kitty Foyle at the 1941 ceremony.
The role also reconnects Carpenter with Hollywood’s Golden Age while drawing on an acting career that began before her current music success. The Recording Academy notes that Carpenter held television roles before landing a lead role in Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World in 2014, which became an early career breakthrough.
Her recording career later brought two Grammy wins in 2025, including Best Pop Vocal Album for Short n’ Sweet and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Espresso.” In 2026, the Television Academy listed Carpenter as an Emmy winner for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for The Muppet Show, where she was credited as an executive producer and performer.
Carpenter and Qualley also have a recent creative connection. In April 2026, they co-directed Carpenter’s “House Tour” music video, which featured both performers alongside Madelyn Cline. That collaboration does not establish how the pair will approach the Astaire film, but it does mean the newly announced co-stars have already worked together both on camera and behind it.
Fred and Adele Astaire Define the Film’s Source Story
The source book makes clear that the film is not simply a recreation of Fred Astaire’s best-known screen partnership. Oxford University Press describes Riley’s The Astaires: Fred & Adele as a study of the siblings’ performance career and cultural impact before Fred became a Hollywood star.
That focus gives Qualley’s Adele Astaire a central place in the story. Fred and Adele performed on Broadway and London’s West End, and King has emphasized that Adele’s work is far less visually preserved than Fred’s later movie career. His statement described bringing those histories to the screen as a “cinematic challenge.”
The project also joins a broader musical biopic trend, though its reported structure differs from many single-subject films because it draws from two performance partnerships across different stages of Astaire’s career. Rogers remains central to Fred Astaire’s screen legacy, while Riley’s book provides a framework that begins earlier with Fred and Adele.
The production team includes Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor for Pascal Pictures, Ben Holden and Josh Hyams for Lightbulb Pictures, and Holland through Billy17. Riley’s book, family consultation and the newly confirmed cast give the film a defined historical framework even though several production details remain unannounced.
Tom Holland’s Dance Preparation Raises the Production Challenge
Holland has already discussed the physical preparation required to portray Astaire. In a July 2026 appearance on Good Morning America, he said his early rehearsals brought both excitement and “absolute dread” because of the amount of preparation he believed the role would require.
“I’ve got so much work to do to try and do Fred proud,” Holland said.
He has also said he wants to perform the dance sequences himself without doubles and hopes to shoot the routines in single takes. That goal reflects his stated approach to the role, although the final filming and editing methods have not been publicly detailed.
Holland has a stage-dance background of his own. He played the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical in London’s West End from 2008 to 2010, years before his film career expanded internationally.
As of Sept. 29, 2026, the Sony Pictures project remains untitled, and the latest casting announcements did not include a theatrical release date. With Sabrina Carpenter as Ginger Rogers, Qualley as Adele Astaire and Holland as Fred Astaire, the confirmed cast now reflects the two partnerships that frame the film’s reported historical scope.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will Sabrina Carpenter play in the Fred Astaire biopic?
Sabrina Carpenter as Ginger Rogers is confirmed for Sony Pictures’ untitled Fred Astaire film. Rogers was Fred Astaire’s frequent screen dance partner and appeared with him in 10 films between 1933 and 1949.
Who else stars in the Fred Astaire film?
Tom Holland will portray Fred Astaire, while Margaret Qualley will play his older sister and original stage partner, Adele Astaire. Paul King is directing the Sony Pictures project.
What book is the Fred Astaire biopic based on?
The film is based on Kathleen Riley’s The Astaires: Fred & Adele, published by Oxford University Press in 2012. The book focuses heavily on the siblings’ stage partnership before Fred Astaire’s later Hollywood career.
When will the Fred Astaire biopic be released?
The September 2026 casting announcements did not provide a theatrical release date. The film also remains officially untitled in the latest reporting.
