For the last year or so, Elton John and David Furnish have been working on a biopic of the singer, called Rocket Man. A couple of months ago, Michael Gracey signed up to direct and it appears they’re now looking for their leading man.

If HitFix is to be believed, a perhaps surprising name is at the top of the list – Tom Hardy. It actually makes more sense than it might appear, as Hardy is far more metrosexual than his hard man image might suggest (including a small obsession with nice shoes), and if you look at pics of Elton back in the 70s, it wouldn’t be as enormous transformation for Tom as it might first appear.

At the moment it doesn’t appear a formal offer has been made, and there’s no word either of how interested Hardy may be.

It’s previously been reported that the movie will follow Elton John’s journey from 5-year old musical prodigy who by age 11 won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, to a young man who rebelled against his strict upbringing, wore outrageous costumes and became a global icon who teamed with songwriter Bernie Taupin to sell more records that just about any musical artist of his era. It will also feature some more fantastical elements and plenty of the singer’s music, in keeping with John’s larger than life personality.

Justin Timberlake was previously rumoured for the main role, but that always appeared like it was more wishful thinking that reality. At the moment, we’ll just have to see if Hardy does end up being a Rocket Man.