Much-Delayed Bee Gees Biopic Said to Have Ridley Scott as Director
by Best Classic Bands Staff
The Bee Gees in 1975
It appears that Ridley Scott is the new director for the biopic on music legends the Bee Gees. The long-planned feature film has had a circuitous path since it was first announced in 2021. The narrative feature film will tell the tale of the rise of the music group – brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb – from their early days in Australia to conquering the world of popular music around the globe, and across numerous eras.
Kenneth Branagh had originally signed on to direct the film, when it was first announced in March 2021. However, he pulled out to focus on his acclaimed 2021 film, Belfast. (The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards; Branagh won for Best Original Screenplay.) Deadline.com revealed on March 30, 2022, that John Carney (Once, Modern Love) had taken on the role. At one point, director Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers) replaced Carney. John Logan (nominated for Gladiator) was on board to write the screenplay. The film remains under the Paramount Pictures banner.
In a June 2025 interview with Collider, Scott, one of the industry’s highest grossing directors of such films as Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, was asked what he had on his calendar. “The Bee Gees in November,” was the reply.
The behind-the-scenes team for the still-untitled film—some reports have it tentatively named You Should Be Dancing—includes Graham King, the producer of the immensely successful Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie does not have a release date. Paramount acquired the rights from the Gibb family and their estates to use the Bee Gees‘ actual recordings in the film.
Barry Gibb, the only surviving member of the trio, is an executive producer of the film. It was originally reported that Bradley Cooper was approached to portray him in the film. In the June 2025 interview, Collider asked Scott if he had a principal cast in mind. “I’ve already got my footprints and handprints—or requests, is a better way of putting it—on those names,” he said, without revealing his wish list.
2020’s HBO documentary about the Bee Gees, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, came from Amblin Entertainment and their director Frank Marshall. It’s available to stream or purchase here.
The Brothers Gibb earned nine chart-toppers in the U.S., with six in a row in the late ’70s, including such classic hits as “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
The phenomenal statistics only start there. In the U.S. they achieved 15 Top 10 singles and 24 that reached the Top 20. Their recordings are available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Related: Our Album Rewind of Main Course, the Bee Gees’ turning point
Watch the Bee Gees perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationThis is very exciting and well deserved. The Bee Gees are one the best song writers of my lifetime. Someone extremely handsome has to portray Barry!
Finalmente. I Bee Gees hanno avuto una risonanza mondiale e le loro composizioni ancora accompagnano le pubblicità dei nostri giorni. La loro storia merita di essere conosciuta anche dalle nuove generazioni. Spero che i tempi per la realizzazione del film non siano lunghi.
Each of the brothers has their own looks even barry had that ticket in their younger years,but robin and maruice were very handsome in their adult years.
I love listening to the Bee Gees. As children that is all we heard in our home. As an adult, I have become a fanatic. I listen to them for soothing, calm down, stress, and just to smile. I have watched the other documentaries and am excited. My favorite is Maurice. He was the one who had the compassion to keep the production going and oversee the other two spatting. He appears to be the funny, silly, and the rock. His voice was amazing and he deserves to be noticed regardless of his bad habits. I love them all. I have listened to their kids singing and omg. Beautiful Samantha has a voice of an angel. RL sounds a lot like his dad. Now Barry’s rock and roller has a beautiful raspy voice. I love it. Can I say much more?