The Rolling Stones are heading to the big screen after securing a lucrative biopic agreement with American production company 101 Studios.
Sir Mick Jagger, 83, along with fellow band members Keith Richards, 82, and Ronnie Wood, 79, reportedly finalised the contract last month.
The US studio has built a strong reputation through hit television series such as Yellowstone, Landman, Mayor of Kingstown and The Agency.
According to reports first published by The Sun, the legendary rockers were drawn to the production company’s track record.
Mick Jagger has talked in the past about his vision for the biopic
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PAA source told the publication: “The band love what 101 Studios have done before and think they’re in safe hands.”
The deal marks a significant step towards bringing one of rock music’s most storied histories to cinema audiences.
Despite the agreement being in place, the project remains at a very early stage.
“No casting has started. How the film will look and feel, and the stories it will tell, is being organised now,” the source added.
The Rolling Stones are heading to the big screen
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THE ROLLING STONES/YOUTUBEThe insider was unequivocal about the status of negotiations, however, stating: “It’s early days but the deal is done.”
Precisely which period of the band’s six-decade career the film will focus on has yet to be determined.
Speaking to GQ in June, Mr Jagger acknowledged there were multiple approaches to telling a life story on screen.
“Most of the time when you do a biopic, you do one small section of someone’s life bookended by some other stuff,” he said, citing the Bob Dylan film as an example of narrowing the focus to a specific two-year window.
The Rolling Stones
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Mr Jagger has given clear indications about the type of performer he envisions playing him on screen.
The frontman wants an actor in their twenties to capture the period when the band first rose to prominence, insisting he was only 19 or 20 at the time.
“I don’t want that, I want them to be in their 20s. At least in their 20s,” he told E Talk earlier this year.
Rather than a household name, the 83-year-old has expressed a preference for a relatively unfamiliar face.
The Rolling Stones in 1960
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GETTY
“It would be a pretty unknown actor, it wouldn’t be a big star actor, on the cusp of being famous,” he said.
According to The Sun, this appeared to rule out figures such as Harry Styles, 32, who might otherwise have seemed an obvious candidate given his transition into acting.
The Stones’ biopic follows in the footsteps of a separate deal for four Beatles films helmed by Sir Sam Mendes.
Those productions have already cast Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Sir Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, with a planned release in 2028.
Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones continue to demonstrate remarkable commercial staying power more than six decades into their career.
Their latest record, Foreign Tongues, reached the top of the UK album chart this summer, becoming the group’s 15th number one in Britain.
Mr Jagger also noted that he had previously produced the James Brown biopic, suggesting he brings first-hand experience of the genre to the forthcoming project.