If 2024 was the cinematic year of reboots, sequels and remakes, this year will see a bonanza of celebrity biopics hitting the big screen in 2025 and beyond. The trend started with Robbie Williams’s chimp film Better Man and Pharrell Williams’s Lego-styled documentary of his life Piece By Piece, but if these left field tasters left you cold, then buckle up, baby, because this genre is sizzling with not one but eight movies dramatising the highs and lows of pop culture’s greatest icons. Scroll on for the deets on all the star-studded cinematic gems coming to a cinema near you soon(ish).

Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan

A Complete Unknown, out 17 Jan

Leading the charge is one of the most talked-about projects: Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, capturing the folk legend’s meteoric rise to fame in the early Sixties. Critics have raved about the film – directed by James Mangold (Walk The Line and Ford v Ferrari ) – and there’s plenty of Oscars buzz that could see Chalamet land his first Academy Award. Based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!, the 28-year-old brings his undeniable talent to the role, with Elle Fanning playing Dylan’s girlfriend Sylvie Russo. The film focuses on four pivotal years from 1961 to 1965, culminating in his controversial decision to “go electric” at the Newport Folk Festival – a moment that cemented Dylan as a generational voice. Chalamet sings all the songs himself, so worth seeing for that alone.

Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen

Deliver Me From Nowhere, release date unknown

Jeremy Allen White has gone from a permanent state of food anxiety in Disney+’s hit series The Bear to playing The Boss (via a saucy Calvin Klein ad campaign in his tighty whities). Production is underway for Deliver Me from Nowhere, the highly anticipated Bruce Springsteen biopic. Set in New Jersey (the birthplace of The Boss’s musical legacy) and based on Warren Zanes’ book of the same name, the film focuses on the creation of Springsteen’s groundbreaking sixth album, Nebraska, that saw him ditch his commercial vibe for his now iconic raw sound. Springsteen and his manager Jon Landau are both involved in the project, Allen White sings the hits and The Boss has praised his voice and performance. The biopic is directed by Scott Cooper, and also stars Paul Walter Hauser, Jeremy Strong, Odessa Young, and Stephen Graham. We have our double denim and bandana ready for opening weekend.

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson

Michael, out 3 Oct

The ultimate nepo baby casting, sees 28-year-old Jaafar Jackson (son of Jermaine Jackson) stepping into the shoes of his Uncle Michael. The film takes us from the King of Pop’s childhood, Jackson 5 years and the abuse he suffered by his father Joe Jackson, right up to his hit Thriller, the purchase of Neverland Valley and into his death on June 25, 2009 – whether it touches on any of the many controversies, remains to be seen. The fledging actor shares the screen with a starry cast including Nia Long, Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, and Laura Harrier – if the success of the Broadway show is anything to go by, it’ll be a hit.

Julia Garner as Madonna

Who’s That Girl? (*possibly*), release date unknown

We have our laced gloved fingers crossed for the Madonna biopic, but with Madam Madge involved in the project and an on-off history, who knows if it will ever make it onto the big screen. Julia Garner (Ozark and Inventing Anna) will play the iconic singer having successfully navigated a Madonna bootcamp – which included Garner, Florence Pugh, Alexa Demie, and Odessa Young, among others – enduring 11-hour choreography sessions and singing auditions with Her Madge-esty herself. Previous attempts to commit her story to screen have failed, with the pop queen herself describing the scripts “hideous, superficial crap”.

Paul Mescal as Sir Paul McCartney

Will Paul Mescal do for Sir Paul McCartney’s sideburns what he did for Connell’s chain? Director Sam Mendes has confirmed his next project is a four-part film series about The Beatles. After much gossip and industry whispers it was director Ridley Scott (Gladiator II) who let slip that Mescal would be starring in The Beatles biopic. The ambitious project aims to offer an intimate look at the lives of each band member, and while it’s not been officially announced that Mescal will play McCartney, he does look a little bit like him (after a couple of gins).

Tom Holland as Fred Astaire

Tom Holland as Fred Astaire? Yes please. If you’ve been hiding under a social media rock and not seen Holland’s Singing in the Rain / Umbrella Lip Sync Battle in 2017, then you haven’t lived. The guy’s got mooooooves. It’s a no brainer that Holland is e taking on the role of the late entertainer Fred Astaire. The project has been in development since 2021 and is being led by Wonka director Paul King, who is collaborating with screenwriter Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) on the script. Filming is yet to start, so no release date, but we’re sightly giddy to see the Spider-Man star in the role.

Selena Gomez as Linda Ronstadt

Singer and actor Selena Gomez is set to play US singer Linda Ronstadt – although progress is very slow. The project was announced a year ago, but radio silence has followed. The film is being produced by James Keach, who worked on Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line and documentaries on Ronstadt. The star and the subject both share a Mexican heritage, and Gomez has said in interviews that people have always said she resembles the 70s and 80s singer. It remains to be seen if the movie gets off the ground.

Shailene Woodley as Janis Joplin

Many have tried to make a Janis Joplin biopic, and the latest attempt will see Shailene Woodley play the iconic late rock singer. The upcoming project has been in development for the last seven years and promises to chronicle Joplin’s rise to fame and her final days before she died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. Woodley will be singing in the film and is working closely with legendary music producer Linda Perry to ensure a raw and intimate portrayal of the two-time Grammy winner. The release date is rumoured to be 2027.