In a post on their website today, Queen has confirmed that their long-rumored official biopic, appropriately dubbed Bohemian Rhapsody, is officially in the works, with Egyptian-American Rami Malek (best known for his Emmy-winning turn in USA Network‘s Mr. Robot) slated to star as the band’s iconic vocalist, Freddie Mercury.
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As the post states: “Yes folks, it IS finally happening…here’s what we can confirm at this stage: Award winning director Bryan Singer is the man who will be bringing the Queen and Freddie story alive. If you’ve ever seen Singer’s X-Men films, or the groundbreaking movie The Usual Suspects, you’ll know this is a director with extraordinary imagination and style. A perfect choice to recreate the fabulous Queen years which brought us such unforgettable moments as Live Aid, which we can reveal will be faithfully recreated for a key sequence the film.”
The post on Queen Online continues: “Rami Malek has signed up to take on the challenging rôle of Freddie Mercury. Who could imagine a more perfect fit than this brilliant actor? Roger [Taylor] and Brian [May] told QOL: “Rami has great presence and he’s utterly dedicated to the project. He’s completely living and breathing Freddie already, which is wonderful.”
Taylor and May will be serving as the film’s executive music producers. The film is close to beginning production, with pre-production meetings taking place this week in UK and principal photography beginning in London in mid-September.
As for the roles of the other band members, Queen’s camp isn’t letting that info slip just yet: “You are probably wondering, who will play Roger, Brian and John??? That, friends, is news for another day.”
The band is encouraging fans to keep up with Queen Online and the Queen Facebook page for more updates as the project goes on. They even hinted at a potential casting call: “Hint: Fancy being in the film?”
[h/t – Queen Online]