Elton John has revealed he wants Justin Timberlake to play him in a forthcoming film about his life.

The singer confirmed that the project with his partner, David Furnish, and Lee Hall, the author of Billy Elliot, was "very much in the works", adding they would be making an announcement very soon.

"We have a director on board, and then it's just going to be a matter of getting the script exactly the way we want it. Lee Hall has written a script – he wrote Billy Elliot – and then we'll start trying to cast and plan," said John.

The 64-year-old star added that Timberlake was his first choice to portray him on the big screen.

"I've got a wish list of people. Number one on my wishlist is Justin Timberlake, because he played me before in a David LaChapelle video of Rocket Man and he was superb."

John and Furnish will produce the film, which has been provisionally titled Rocket Man.

Described by John as a "jukebox musical", it will tell the story of his rise to fame and include many of his biggest hits, including Your Song and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

"It's going to be a surreal look at my life, and not just a factual look at my life, more in the manner of a Moulin Rouge," said John in an interview with the LA Times.

"I just don't want it to be a normal biopic because my life hasn't been like that."

The singer, who is nominated for a Golden Globe on 15 January for his song Hello, Hello from the film Gnomeo & Juliet, will be back in the studio soon to record an album. But he insisted his days as a pop star are over.

"As Elton John, my days on pop radio are over, and I know that and I accept it and I'm not unhappy about it. It's a different time of my life now, and it gives me the freedom to do whatever kind of music I want to do," he said.

"When I say I don't have to write pop songs anymore, there's no way I'm going to get on the radio at 60 years of age unless I'm doing a duet with [Lady] Gaga or I was on All of the Lights, which was a Kanye West record that managed to get on the radio." John also features on the recent Kate Bush album.

John also spoke about how his son, Zachary, has changed his life.

"I love him so much," he said. "He's the light of our lives. I've had an amazing professional life, personal life, but at 64 to have a son who gives us that much love and enjoyment is, wow!"