Nick Jonas 'to play KISS frontman Paul Stanley in biopic'
Nick Jonas has reportedly been lined up to play KISS frontman Paul Stanley in a new biopic.
The pop star/actor is believed to have been tapped to portray the band's frontman in 'Shout It Out Loud', which will be directed by McG and will chart the rock band's rise to fame.
The Hollywood Reporter reports Jonas is in "final talks" to take on the role of Stanley, while movie bosses are still looking for an actor to play the singer's bassist bandmate Gene Simmons.
The group is helping to develop the project while Stanley and Simmons are among the producers along with McG.
Deadline.com reports Jonas plans to take on singing duties in the film and needs time to train his voice to be able to emulate Stanley's signature vocals.
Longtime KISS manager Doc McGhee previously revealed the movie would focus on the band's first four years together after forming in the 1970s.
Speaking to Talking Metal in 2021, he explained: "[The script is] completely done … And the script is about the first four years of KISS. Basically, it's before they were famous - it was up to Cadillac High [KISS' famous gig in a high school gym in Cadillac, Michigan in 1975] , that kind of thing ...
"And I think it's a very interesting look at the formation of KISS, the mindset of how that came about, the social pressure that everybody was in in the '60s and '70s that brought something like KISS to the forefront, that it could actually happen. So it's a very interesting, and I think it's a well-written movie."
Stanley has also previously spoken about the movie, telling broadcaster Kylie Olsson in 2021: "[The movie is] definitely happening. And that's gonna be really interesting. The script was really good. And we really waited until we felt comfortable."
He added of actors who could play him in the film: "I will tell you this: for casting to be accurate in terms of age, we are looking at actors in their early 20s.
"Honestly, I don't know a whole lot of actors in their early 20s. When people get asked these kinds of questions, they'll say, 'Oh, Brad Pitt,' or this one or that one.
"Well, those guys are in their 50s or 60s, so you're talking about another generation of actors. And I'm the first to say I'm not up on a lot of them.
"But as the casting process goes on, I'll certainly be there and watching. It'll be interesting to see how someone else- be it the casting people or the director - how they view who I am and who they see doing that. I think I'll learn a lot about their perception of me by who they cast."
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