In an item posted last week on its
official website, Queen confirmed that the Freddie Mercury biopic
starring Rami Malek is “as-close-as-that” to start filming.
Tentatively titled Bohemian
Rhapsody, the film is scheduled to start principal photography in
the UK in mid-September, the band said.
Mercury, the lead singer of the
legendary band Queen,
who died in 1991 from complications from AIDS, is considered a music
legend. Malek (Mr. Robot) will play Mercury in the film.
“Rami has great presence and he's
utterly dedicated to the project,” Guitarist Brian May and drummer
Roger Taylor said in making the announcement. “He's completely
living and breathing Freddie already, which is wonderful.”
May and Taylor are serving as executive
music producers on the film.
The group also announced that 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,”
the band said.
The film has been in the works for
years, with several actors – including Sasha Baron Cohen and Ben
Whishaw – tied to the project at different times. This time, the
band said, the film “is finally happening.”
“After months of speculation, QOL
[Queen Online] 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 [and]
around London as soon as mid-September,” the
band said.