British filmmaker Dexter Fletcher was drafted in to get the film over the finish line. It therefore seems almost apt that he is back just seven months later with Rocketman , another ’70s rock biopic – this time about singer-pianist Elton John.

Featuring Kingsman ’s Taron Egerton as John, the film focuses on his rise from “fat boy in Pinner” to multimillionaire rock star by the age of 25 after teaming up with lyricist Bernie Taupin.

“The movie attempts to be emotional,” Fletcher says, “and touches on some very deep-rooted feelings and moments in their lives.”

Unlike the Queen film, which is a straightforward biopic, Rocketman mixes fantasy with reality. A sequence sees John float off the ground as he plays Crocodile Rock at the Troubadour club; other songs are presented as Busby Berkeley-style musical numbers.

“For me, the musical has this great element that I call the ‘to be or not to be’ moment, where actors can sing and open their hearts and tell you what their inner voice is saying,” Fletcher says. “And that’s an incredible storytelling tool.”

Of course, it helps that Elton John’s extravagant stage costumes lend the film the feeling of a full-blown Broadway musical. The film features more than 85 wardrobe changes courtesy of costume designer Julian Day, who cleverly riffs on the outrageous outfits for which John became famous (Day also worked on Bohemian Rhapsody). Even the scenes in rehab – a perfect device to explore John’s descent into cocaine and alcohol abuse – see him wear an orange devil’s suit and horned headwear.

Amid all its outlandish elements, Rocketman is the story of one musician’s search for love and acceptance, showing John at his most vulnerable.

“There was nowhere that I couldn’t shine a light,” Fletcher says. “There was no dark corner where he [John] went, ‘No!’ If it serviced what the film needed and wanted to be at any particular time, then that’s where we went … he let us tell the story and that was the great strength of it. That’s why I feel that it’s successful on so many levels for us, and personally for him as well.”

While the films are very different, comparisons between Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody are inevitable. Egerton calls the latter “a great rip-roaring piece of entertainment”, but points out that the big difference is that, as a biopic, that film didn’t require an actor who could sing – Malik’s vocal performance was aided by other singers. For Rocketman, Egerton spent months learning piano and taking singing lessons. “Hopefully it shows there’s an appetite for movies of this nature,” he says.

While Rocketman is unlikely to become the “global phenomenon and success” – as Egerton puts it – that Bohemian Rhapsody was, it has already taken over US$115 million worldwide. It is still to be released in certain territories, coinciding with John’s ongoing final concert tour “Farewell Yellow Brick Road”, which culminates late next year in the UK and even recently featured Egerton joining John on stage.

In an age of relatively clean-cut pop stars dominating the charts, it seems the thirst for rock-star stories from the era of excess is strong.

Production companies are now scrambling to put into motion other rock-infused tales. Actor-musician Johnny Flynn, who starred in the British thriller Beast opposite Jessie Buckley, has been tapped up to play a young David Bowie in Stardust. The film chronicles the iconic singer’s first jaunt to America in 1971, a trip that inspired the creation of his Ziggy Stardust alter ego. Jena Malone is set to play Bowie’s wife, Angie.

Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director behind Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge!, is currently working on a film about the life of Elvis Presley. While nobody has yet been cast as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tom Hanks has signed on to play his mysterious manager Colonel Tom Parker. While it’s hardly the first Elvis biopic – John Carpenter made one back in 1978, starring Kurt Russell – the thought of the garrulous Luhrmann lifting the curtain on Elvis’ life is mouth-watering.

Other films in development include Respect, scripted by Oscar-winner Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise) and starring Jennifer Hudson as soul icon Aretha Franklin; and Beautiful, the story of 1970s singer Carole King based on the hit Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name.

Beyond that, British outfit Monumental Pictures is working on a film about the life of the late Amy Winehouse, while Sacha Gervasi (Anvil! The Story of Anvil) is penning a script about Culture Club lead singer Boy George.

After the lightning-in-a-bottle success that was Bohemian Rhapsody, it’s not surprising to see this rash of music movies. But will audience interest wane? “I don’t think there’s an overkill,” Fletcher says. “If there’s an appetite, people are going to go and love it and each director will bring their vision and their take.”

Fletcher even admitted recently that if he were to take on another musical icon it would be Madonna – despite the Material Girl once slamming on social media a proposed film, Blonde Ambition, about her early days.

Indeed, in an age dominated by comic-book movies, it’s understandable that older audiences might seek out these real-life superheroes for cinematic canonisation. Nostalgia is, after all, big business these days as viewers wistfully look to reflect on the musical soundtrack of their youth. Even bands like Motley Crue have seen their antics immortalised on screen (in this year’s Netflix drama The Dirt, based on the 2001 memoir co-authored with Neil Strauss).

It might just come down to the way music is so emotive for so many people. There’s something to be said for a timeless catalogue that has proved roadworthy for the past 40 years.

“These songs, they highlight moments in our lives, which is why everyone feels such a personal investment in him and his life story,” says Egerton, talking about John and his roster of hits.

The same can be said for Queen, Bowie, Elvis and the rest. Time to let the music play.