Daisy Edgar-Jones Is ‘No Longer’ Portraying Carole King in Biopic

Daisy Edgar-Jones has twisted out of the upcoming Carole King biopic.

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After previously being announced as cast in the lead role in 2022, “Twisters” star Edgar-Jones told Variety that she is “no longer” set to portray singer/songwriter King onscreen.

“That’s no longer happening,” Edgar-Jones said. “I love Carole and I love that story, but it was a year ago that they decided [to no longer pursue it].”

“I did learn a lot of piano. I think it’s a gorgeous story, and the script probably needs a little more time in the oven. But I did meet Carole King on Zoom, and I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever,'” she added. “She really enjoyed ‘Normal People,’ so she was a fan of that and I was a fan of hers. I get so starstruck by musicians, much more than actors, and Carole was one where it was quite hard to keep my cool.”

Despite preparing for the role by tapping into her musical side, the project has been shelved, with Edgar-Jones saying that the “script probably needs a little more time in the oven.” The film was going to be adapted from the Tony Award-winning biographical musical “Beautiful,” which ran on Broadway from 2014 through 2019. Lisa Cholodenko was set to be directing from a script she co-wrote with “Kids Are All Right” scribe Stuart Blumberg; Tom Hanks was producing.

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King applauded Edgar-Jones’ casting at the time, saying, “Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger. She’s a tremendous talent and I know she’s going to give a great performance.”

According to Variety’s reporting, sources confirmed the film is still in development at Sony, just without Edgar-Jones as her Edgar-Jones’ casting deal was not closed upon the initial announcement and the writers and actors strikes delayed the project. IndieWire can also confirm the film is still in development.

Edgar-Jones will be starring in Daniel Minahan’s adaptation of “On Swift Horses” alongside Diego Calva and Jacob Elordi, as well as portraying Ann Druyan in Sebastián Lelio’s “Voyagers.”
Andrew Garfield will portray astronomer Carl Sagan, with the film taking place in 1977 as Sagan’s NASA team prepares to launch the first interstellar probes, The Golden Record.

Emmy and Peabody-winning producer Druyan, whose real-life story is at the center of the film, added, “Imagine falling madly, truly in love with one of the greatest humans who ever lived, while creating a complex message about what it is to be alive, a golden record affixed to the first interstellar spacecraft launched by our species, bound to sail the Milky Way galaxy long after Earth ceases to exist. It takes a movie to bring that mythic experience, that cosmic love story to vivid life. After years of searching, I feel that we have found exactly the right colleagues and artists to capture the magic of it.”