The Captain America actor has turned heads with his new project. It was recently announced that he would be playing American icon Gene Kelly in an upcoming movie.
This won’t be Chris Evans’ first role since his departure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He starred in the all-star flick Knives Out as the off-putting antagonist Hugh “Ransom” Drysdale and had brief cameos in Free Guy and Don’t Look Up.
Evans also lent this voice to the upcoming animated movie Lightyear, starring as the title character Buzz Lightyear. However, this new project has surprised people as it will likely involve some major dance moves.
Chris Evans cast to play Gene Kelly
In a report by Deadline, it was stated that Chris Evans was cast to play Gene Kelly in a recent project. Kelly is best known for his roles in the classic Hollywood musicals Singin’ in the Rain and Brigadoon, both by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The movie has not yet been titled or picked up by a studio, but it was based on Evans’ idea.
The flick is expected to be produced by Evans and Mark Kassen. The two previously launched the nonpartisan political organization, A Starting Point. Reportedly, Knives Out’s Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman are also on board to produce, along with Tony-award-winner John Logan, who also will write the script.
This news has stirred the Twitterverse as Evans began instantly trending on the social media platform. Unfortunately, people have had mixed reactions to the report, with some saying that Evans won’t do the project justice.
Shutting the haters down, one fan wrote, “Chris Evans playing the acting and dancing legend- Gene Kelly?!? The theatre kid in Chris who just loves singing and dancing is finally coming to shake the big screen, people,” sharing a side-by-side picture of the two.
What do we know about the movie?
Not much has been divulged about the upcoming project, but there is a brief synopsis. Deadline shared, “The film is about a 12-year-old boy who works on the MGM lot in 1952 and begins to create an imagined friendship with the legendary movie star Kelly while working on his next film.”
Many were relieved to see that it won’t be a biopic, as it was expressed back in 2019 that Kelly was against the concept. Following the premiere of the Judy Garland biopic Judy, Kelly’s widow Patricia Ward stated her dissatisfaction with the movie and shared Kelly’s wishes.
She said, “Gene was very specific in his request, he said, ”I never want a biopic. The film for me, it sort of enforced that and why he made that decision.”
This untitled movie does not have an expected release date.