Actor Johnny Flynn is taking on the role of legendary rock icon David Bowie in the upcoming film Stardust, and in a new still from the film the actor is the spitting image of the late rocker – right down to the iconic red mullet that has since become synonymous with his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust.
Flynn wrote and recorded an original song for Stardust called ‘Good Ol’ Jane’ and described the tune as aiming to be like “an early, lost [Bowie] song that people haven’t heard.”
“This was the first time I was writing a song as the character,” Johnny Flynn told NME, “You can hear BBC sessions from this period and live radio sessions and you can tell what an influence early Velvet Underground records were, he was often trying to copy Lou’s voice as well.”
It comes following the news that Stardust won’t actually include any of Bowie’s songs, with his son Duncan Jones saying the family hadn’t granted any rights to use his music.
“Pretty certain nobody has been granted music rights for ANY biopic… I would know,” wrote Jones on Twitter.
He added: “I’m not saying this movie is not happening. I honestly wouldn’t know. I’m saying that as it stands, this movie won’t have any of dads music in it, & I can’t imagine that changing.
“If you want to see a biopic without his music or the families blessing, that’s up to the audience.”
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Earlier this year, Flynn said that unlike biopics such as Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, Stardust is set to examine just a small chapter in Bowie’s life as he began his path to global superstardom amid the creation of his Ziggy Stardust persona.
“It’s a very small film, it’s just a tiny moment in [Bowie’s] life, so it’s different to the other big rock biopics that have gone out recently,” Flynn said.
The first screening of Stardust is set to take place at an opening night gala in London on October 28th with the film’s director Gabriel Range in attendance.
Check out ‘Good ‘Ol Stardust’ by Johnny Flynn:
