Of all the recent musical biopics making their way down the pipeline, the recent announcement (via We Listen For You) of Freddie Mercury‘s life story coming to the silver screen may be the most potentially mesmerizing. While no other singer could fill his shoes, the actor set to portray the Queen frontman should fill you with glee: Sacha Baron Cohen. And cue the Borat impersonations…
The film, which will be produced in part by the three remaining Queen members (Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor), tells the story of “the band’s formative years, leading up to Queen’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985.” The film will also explore Mercury’s sexuality along with his status as one of the first famous AIDS victims.
No other details are available yet, however, the production has cleared the rights to several Queen songs, including “You’re My Best Friend”, “Another One Bites the Dust”, and “Fat Bottom Girls”. No word yet whether Cohen will pull a Joaquin Phoenix (sing, not make a shitty documentary) or just lip-sync.
The film doesn’t have a release date, but they’re pushing it to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Mercury’s November 1991 death. As always, stay tuned for more news on the production as it’s announced.
