British actor Ben Whishaw will play
Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic.
Sacha Baron Cohen (Bruno)
departed the project in July over clashes with the producers over the
film's tone, according to Variety.
The 33-year-old Whishaw is best known
for playing Q in the James Bond film Skyfall and Freddie in
the BBC period drama The Hour.
Deadline
Hollywood reports that the film will be directed by Dexter
Fletcher (Sunshine On Leith) and will “tell the formative
coming-of-age story of the group, culminating in Queen headlining
Live Aid in 1985.”
Mercury died in 1991 from complications
from AIDS and is considered a music legend. The movie, which is
based on a script by Peter Morgan, won't focus on Mercury's last
days.
In August, Whishaw
announced that he's in a civil partnership with partner Mark
Bradshaw, an Australian composer.