Queen Confirm Freddie Mercury Biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, Starring Rami Malek

Queen have announced that the forthcoming Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody will star Mr. Robot actor Rami Malek in the lead role, and is about to start pre-production.

In a statement, Queen’s Roger Taylor and Brian May say, “Rami has great presence and he’s utterly dedicated to the project. He’s completely living and breathing Freddie already, which is wonderful.”

Malek’s appointment to the role of Freddie Mercury comes after Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw both left the role.

Queen have also confirmed that Bohemian Rhapsody will be directed by Bryan Singer, who has helmed films like The Usual Suspects, Superman Returns and a number of X-Men movies. Director Dexter Fletcher was previously slated for the biopic, but pulled out in 2014.

Taylor and May will be Executive Music Producers on the film, but exactly who’ll be portraying them in the film is yet to be announced. What’s more, Queen have also hinted that fans will have a chance to appear in the movie.

Bohemian Rhapsody is starting pre-production in the UK this week, and will begin principal photography around London as soon as mid-September. The film will include a recreation of the band’s 1985 Live Aid performance as a “key sequence”.

In other Queen news, the band will return to Australia later this year, for a headline tour with singer Adam Lambert.

Read the band’s full statement about the Bohemian Rhapsody film, below.

Queen Statement (14/07/17)

Yes folks, it IS finally happening. You’ve been hearing rumours about Bohemian Rhapsody The Film for some time, but now QOL is about to become your most direct source of official information. This will be the place to come to stay ahead of all the very latest news and updates as the film gets underway – and hopefully we’ll have some regular insider information to share with you too.

So starting right now, 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. More on that very soon.

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 ? At this stage you probably know him best for TV’s Mr Robot. Roger and Brian 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.”

Roger and Brian of course are serving as the film’s executive music producers.

After months of speculation, QOL can also confirm that the film is now ‘as-close-as-that’ to start of shooting. Pre-production begins next week in the UK to prepare for start of principal photography in around London as soon as mid-September.

You are probably wondering, who will play Roger, Brian and John??? That, friends, is news for another day, and just one good reason for you to make QOL and Queen Facebook your regular stops to check in for the very latest updates, and who, knows, maybe even one or two exclusives.

Come back soon. You don’t know what you might be missing. Hint: Fancy being in the film?