For a while now Rami Malek has been set to play Freddie Mercury is the planned biopic of the rock band Queen, which Bryan Singer is planning to direct. Now they’ve cast the rest of the band, who will be joining Malek in the film, which has now been titled Bohemian Rhapsody.
Ben Hardy, the former Eastender who played Angel in Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, will be drummer Roger Taylor. Joe Mazello, who’s still best known as young Tim in Jurassic Park but has since popped up in the likes of The Social Network and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, is set to play bass guitarist John Deacon. Finally Gwilym Lee, who some will recognise from UK TV’s Midsomer Murders and recently appeared in Jamestown, will be guitarist Brian May – presumably with the trademark curly hair.
Not much has been revealed about the film, such as whether it will cover the full history of the band (at least while Mercury was alive), or just part of the tale. It’s also not certain how it will handle Freddie’s sexuality, as while it now seems to central to his story, the rest of Queen (who are producers on the movie) have sometimes tried to downplay it. However, with out director Singer involved, it shouldn’t get ignored. It is known that a previous version of the script led up to Queen’s iconic Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985, but it’s not known if that still forms the central spine of the movie.
Filming will begin this autumn, with SInger directing from a from script by Justin Haythe. It should be in cinemas at the end of 2018.