We've been following the story of the Freddie Mercury / Queen biopic, and this is the first time so far that the film has received an official proclamation from Queen themselves, so it looks pretty serious.
Prior to this, there'd been several aborted attempts to get the film on the road with the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw attached to star as Freddie Mercury. In Baron Cohen's case, he left the project when he clashed with Brian May and Roger Taylor - who are producing the film - over the general thesis of the film. Essentially, May and Taylor believed the story should continue on, like the band did, after Mercury's death whereas Baron Cohen believed it ended with Mercury's death. Brian May hit back, saying that Baron Cohen was dropped because he wasn't right for the material and cited critical dud Grimsby as a reason why.
It's likely that Singer's film - which is called Bohemian Rhapsody - will likely cover the time after Mercury's death, but for now it's confirmed that Rami Malek is officially signed on to play the singer with casting for Brian May and Roger Taylor underway. As well as this, May and Taylor are acting as consultants on the film and all of Queen's discography will be made available for the soundtrack as well.
So, thoughts? You could argue that very few musical biopics give a fair and evenhanded account of a life, but there's no doubt that the original members of Queen being involved in this is going to have an effect on the story and will probably cause a few things to be glossed over or omitted outright if it's embarrassing or the like.
Still, it's a Queen biopic and seeing Rami Malek, one of the most talented actors working today, playing Freddie Mercury is going to be special. If this doesn't get a play at some point, we're going to throw chairs at the screen.
Via QueenOnline.com
