Bohemian Rhapsody (film)

Bohemian Rhapsody is an upcoming British-American biographical-drama film directed by Bryan Singer, and starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. The film focuses on the life of Mercury and the band he fronted, Queen.

Cast

• Rami Malek^[1] as Freddie Mercury

Production

Development

The motion picture is being written by Peter Morgan, who had been nominated for Oscars for his screenplays The Queen and Frost/Nixon. The film, which is being co-produced by Robert De Niro's TriBeCa Productions, will focus on Queen's formative years and the period leading up to the celebrated performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Filming was planned to begin sometime in 2011.^[2]

In April 2011, Brian May confirmed that a lot of work was still being done in preparation for the film. He said that after holding back for a long time due to mixed feelings, the band had approved a team to start filming later in 2011, and Baron Cohen's eagerness had been the key to progress.^[3]

In December 2013 the British actor and director Dexter Fletcher would direct the film; however, Fletcher subsequently withdrew from the project in March 2014.^[4] Prior to Fletcher's withdrawal, production on the film had been due to begin in the summer of 2014; any delays would cause further problems, with Whishaw already committed to begin work on the next James Bond film towards the end of the year.^[4]

After being in development hell for several years, the project has been slowly coming together in late 2015 when producer GK Films hired Anthony McCarten to write a new adaption, rumored to be titled Bohemian Rhapsody.^[5] On November 4, 2016, production is finally back on, this time, at 20th Century Fox, New Regency and GK Films with Bryan Singer, who confirmed his involvement on his Instagram, attached as director while filming is being eyed for an early 2017 date.^[6][7] Brian May and Roger Taylor will serve as music producers.^[7]

Casting

Brian May announced in a September 2010 BBC interview^[8] that Sacha Baron Cohen, previously known for his comedic characters Borat, Ali G, and Brüno, had been chosen to play Mercury in a film about his life. TIME commented with approval on his singing ability and resemblance to Mercury.^[9] However, in July 2013, it was reported that Baron Cohen dropped out of the role due to "creative differences" between him and the surviving band members.^[10] Later, Queen guitarist Brian May said they split on good terms and gave the reason for the split that they felt Cohen's presence would be "distracting."^[11]

Roger Taylor announced that Ben Whishaw, best known for playing Q in the James Bond film Skyfall, was chosen to replace Cohen in the role of Mercury in December 2013,^[12] but withdrew due to a scheduling conflict with the next James Bond film, Spectre.

On November 4, 2016, Rami Malek was cast as Mercury on the same day 20th Century Fox and Bryan Singer were announced as studio and director respectively.^[13][7]

References