Despite having denied rumours all the way back in 2007, Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen's involvement in a biopic of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has been confirmed by the band's guitarist Brian May.
Speaking to BBC's HARDtalk show, May said that Cohen had been on board to play Freddie since talks began for the film a couple of years ago.
"We have Sacha Baron Cohen, which will probably be a shock to a lot of people, but he's been talking with us for a long time."
He also revealed that The Queen and Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan is working on the screenplay, while Robert De Niro and Tribeca films are fronting the cash.
The film will reportedly follow Queen during the period leading up to Live Aid in 1985. May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor will oversee the music used in the film though May said that they would "try to keep ourselves out of it as much as we can".
Cohen is an intriguing choice for the role, and will likely bring the necessary dark humour to the character, if he can pull off a serious role. Judging by the calibre of people behind this project, we have faith that he will.
