New Biopic About The Who’s Keith Moon In the Works

There is a new biopic in the works about the legendary drummer of The Who.

That’s right Keith Moon, who passed away in 1978 at 32 years old from a drug overdose, is getting his own movie and it’s set to shoot this summer. And the band’s living members, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are executive producers of the film.

The project, which had been rumored to be in the works for up to 10 years, is tentatively titled The Real Me, after a song on the band’s album Quadrophenia. The movie is said to focus on Moon’s tumultuous and turbulent life.

Paul Whittington (The Crown and White House Farm) is set to direct with the script to be written by British screenwriter, Jeff Pope, according to Variety. Casting is also underway, with shooting said to begin this summer. Who will play Moon is yet-to-be-decided but previously Daltrey said that whoever gets the role will have to look the part.

“It’s going to be very, very dependent on the actor and the actor’s eyes,” Daltrey said to BBC 6Music. “Because you’ve got to cast it completely from the eyes because Moon had extraordinary eyes.”

The larger-than-life Moon had many noteworthy moments throughout his life. He is considered one of the greatest drummers of all time and he was a wild man on and off the drum kit. Sadly, he never beat the demons inside and he succumbed to a drug and alcohol addiction that eventually killed him while he was still a young man.

In other band news, The Who is set to play some shows in 2022, including Jazz Fest in New Orleans on April 30. See below for news from the band, which announced the show on Twitter, writing to its hundreds of thousands of followers, “We are pleased to announce that THE WHO will be appearing @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Saturday 30 April. The Festival runs from 29 April to 8 May with 500+ bands! For tickets and more information go to http://nojazzfest.com.”

Photo by RB/Redferns