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Sabrina Carpenter is dancing her way back onto the big screen alongside Margaret Qualley in Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire biopic.
According to reports by Deadline, the 27-year-old pop star will portray Hollywood star Ginger Rogers opposite Spider-Man actor Holland as Astaire and Qualley as Adele Astaire in the as yet untitled feature.
Rogers, who won the Best Actress Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1941, collaborated with Astaire across a string of popular 1930s and 1940s song-and-dance films, including Top Hat, Swing Time and The Barkleys of Broadway.
The iconic duo were celebrated for their dynamic on-screen partnership, which regularly featured highly intricate routines.
The project marks Carpenter’s first lead film role since the release of her smash single “Espresso” in 2024. Having launched her career as an actor on the Disney Channel, her previous film credits include Tall Girl (2019), The Hate U Give (2018), and Emergency (2022).
She recently won her first Emmy after appearing in a special episode of The Muppet Show on Disney+.
Fans welcomed the news of the casting, with one person writing on social media: “Now, this is a casting I can get behind.”
Another added: “Oh, she’ll be fantastic,” with others praising Carpenter’s “old Hollywood vibe” as perfect for the role.
The film reunites the singer with Qualley after The Substance star appeared in Carpenter’s 2026 music video for her hit song “House Tour”.
Qualley, 31, has been cast as Adele Astaire, who performed alongside her brother across Broadway and the West End throughout the 1920s.
Directed by Paddington and Wonka filmmaker Paul King, the biopic is adapted from Kathleen Riley’s book The Astaires: Fred And Adele.
As Fred Astaire, Holland will be returning to his roots as a dancer, having begun his career in the 2007 West End production of Billy Elliot: The Musical.
The British actor went on to land the life-changing role of Peter Parker in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man franchise and appeared opposite Anne Hathaway and Matt Damon in Sir Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey earlier this year.
A release date for the biopic is yet to be announced, but already the film has attracted some controversy with some fans saying that any film about the late legendary dancer goes against his wishes.
Since his death in 1987, a Hollywood urban legend has persisted alleging that Astaire was opposed to having his life story told on film.
He is quoted as saying: “However much they offer me – and offers come in all the time – I shall not sell”.
Astaire allegedly included a clause in his will requesting that no such movie shall be made. “It is there because I have no particular desire to have my life misinterpreted, which it would be,” Astaire is quoted as telling reporters, though its inclusion remains uncomfirmed.
