Penn Badgley will star in Jeff Buckley biopic

Penn Badgley ( Gossip Girl , Easy A ) will play Jeff Buckley in the biopic Greetings From Tim Buckley.

There have been rumours circulating for months as to who will play the legendary singer-songwriter; the most likely candidates were said to be Robert Pattinson or James Franco.

It turns out Badgley is the man for the role, as Smuggler Films announced yesterday. The highlights of the press release follow:

"Smuggler Films announced today Penn Badgley will star in the much anticipated film Greetings From Tim Buckley . He will play Tim Buckley’s son Jeff in the first film to be made about the musicians.

"Greetings From Tim Buckley follows the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute concert in St. Ann’s Church.

"Through a romance with a young woman working at the concert, he comes to understand the father who abandoned him. Culminating in a cathartic performance of his father’s most famous songs, Jeff’s debut stuns the audience and launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his time."

On taking on such a big role, Badgley said:

"To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologised as a human being... It's something very special and sacred. I'm going to give all I can to this project.”

Patrick Milling Smith of Smuggler Films added: “In its purest form this is a father and son story, a rite of passage that is made possible by a romantic journey Jeff finds himself on.

"We see Jeff accepting who he is to become and laying to rest the ghost of his father while ultimately finding his voice.

We had been searching well over a year for an actor that can come close to Jeff’s spirit while also having the serious musical chops required to authentically tell this story."

Greetings From Tim Buckley is in pre-production and will start shooting this August in New York City.