Introduction
Ridley Scott has given fans a mixed update on the long-anticipated Bee Gees biopic — and it’s clear the project is facing new hurdles.
The film, provisionally titled You Should Be Dancing after the Bee Gees’ 1976 hit, has already seen a rollercoaster of directors attached, including Kenneth Branagh, Once‘s John Carney, and Hustlers‘ Lorene Scafaria, before landing with Scott. At one point, it seemed the biopic would move forward quickly, with Scott telling Film Stories that the John Logan-penned script was next in line after Gladiator II.
However, in a recent appearance on the Kermode & Mayo’s Take podcast, Scott revealed that a disagreement with the studio has pushed the project back.
“I was right up to the threshold of Bee Gees, and the studio changed the footprint,” Scott said. “I didn’t like it… they didn’t like the deal, so I stepped away. I said, ‘Be warned, I’ve got another one ready.’”
That “other” project is The Dog Stars, which Scott will begin filming with 20th Century Studios in April 2025. As for the Bee Gees biopic? Scott hinted that work could possibly resume in September — but given the film’s long and complicated history, it’s far from a sure thing.
The biopic has attracted some high-profile casting conversations in the past. Robin Gibb’s son, RJ Gibb, previously shared that he had discussed the idea of Oscar-winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) portraying his father.
“I have injected Rami’s name into conversations,” RJ said. “Nothing is written in stone but I think that would be great.”
Bradley Cooper was also rumored to be in talks to play Barry Gibb, with RJ confirming, “Bradley Cooper is a candidate to play Uncle Barry. He has been approached and we’ll see.”
While this film would be the first major dramatized biopic on the Bee Gees, it’s not the brothers’ first big-screen outing. They starred in Cucumber Castle (1969), appeared in the ill-fated Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band movie (1978), and were the focus of the acclaimed 2020 documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, directed by Frank Marshall.
Marshall, incidentally, is now at work on a new authorized Fleetwood Mac documentary for Apple Original Films — leaving fans to wonder when (or if) the Bee Gees’ incredible story will finally get its moment on the big screen