Chris Evans to Play Gene Kelly in Forthcoming Movie

According to Deadline, Chris Evans will play legendary actor Gene Kelly in a forthcoming film based on an original idea conceived by Evans: It will be about a 12-year-old boy who works on the MGM lot and forges an imaginary friendship with the star of An American in Paris and Singin' in the Rain. In addition to starring as Kelly, Evans will also produce. The screenplay is being written by three-time Academy Award nominee John Logan (The Aviator).

Evans is best know for playing Captain America in a series of big-budget Marvel action films. In 2018, he made his Broadway debut in a revival of Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero.

No studio is attached to the unnamed Kelly film, but Evans is producing in partnership with Mark Kassen, as well as Rian Johnson's and Ram Bergman's T-Street Productions, the company behind Knives Out, in which Evans also starred.