‘Bohemian Rhapsody:’ A History of Making the Freddie Mercury Biopic (Photos)
Mamma Mia Figaro! We’ve been anticipating a movie about the life of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury for the last seven years, when it looked like Borat himself, Sacha Baron Cohen, might play the flamboyant singer. And at long last, we got images from the film “Bohemian Rhapsody” signaling it would finally come to pass. Now director Bryan Singer has been fired from the film, but there’s still hope it will be released by December of 2018. Here’s a brief history of the long road the film has taken to hopefully get made.
September 2010
Sacha Baron Cohen, a spitting image of Mercury and with just the right amount of flamboyance, is locked in to play Freddie Mercury in the untitled film written by “Frost/Nixon” scribe Peter Morgan, with Graham King, Tim Headington, Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal all attached to produce. Supposedly the film would not focus on Mercury’s battle with AIDS and would culminate in Queen’s 1985 appearance at Live Aid, six years before he died. The producers had also secured the rights to many of Queen’s hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
May 2012
Stephen Frears is reported as the frontrunner for the directing job on the still untitled biopic, but other directors names are still in the mix.
Frears would later address his brief involvement on the film, telling The Wrap that he had met with Baron Cohen and expected to hear more, but then read that Baron Cohen had a falling out with Queen’s Brian May.
July 2013
Sacha Baron Cohen exits the project over creative differences, in which Cohen wanted a warts-and-all portrayal of Mercury’s life, while the band members wanted a more reverential portrait of themselves, even going as far as to refuse “A King’s Speech” director Tom Hooper for the job.
September 2013
Writer Peter Morgan then told the BBC that the project was “probably not going to happen,” but that was quickly disputed when the producers said it was “still very much alive.”
December 2013
Queen’s first choice for Mercury circa 2014 was Ben Whishaw, who had recently played Q in the Daniel Craig James Bond films, pairing him with director Dexter Fletcher, who directed the musical “Sunshine on Leith.” Queen also weighed in on why they felt Baron Cohen wasn’t ultimately right for the part. “we thought there has to be no distraction in the Freddie movie. You have to really suspend that disbelief – the man who plays Freddie, you have to really believe is Freddie. And we didn’t that could really happen with Sacha.”
“Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe also shot down “ridiculous” rumors that he would be playing Mercury in the film, following a Daily Mail report.
March 2014
Another one bites the dust. Fletcher also departs the project over creative differences, again tied to a difference in opinion over whether to make the film R-rated or a more sanitized portrait of the band.
November 2015
“The Theory of Everything” scribe Anthony McCarten is hired to rewrite Morgan’s initial script, and the studio starts toying with the idea of “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the film’s official title. While Whishaw’s name is still at the top of the list to play Mercury, he doesn’t have a deal in place.
March 2016
Speaking with Howard Stern, Sacha Baron Cohen revealed he “should’ve listened to the warning bells” when the band envisioned Mercury dying midway through the movie and then carrying on to see the band overcome that adversity.
April 2016
Queen’s Brian May fired back at Baron Cohen’s Howard Stern interview, telling the Daily Mail “Sacha became an a***,” even disputing Cohen’s take that they wanted to make a more PG biopic. ‘Why would he go away and say that we didn’t want to make a gritty film?’ demands May angrily.
‘Are we the kind of people who have ever ducked from the truth? I don’t think so.
November 2016
It’s reported “Mr. Robot’s” Rami Malek is in talks for the role of Freddie Mercury and that Singer would direct.
September 2017
We finally get the first look at Malek as Mercury, and he looks stunning, a spitting image of him at Queen’s 1985 Live Aid concert. Malek also revealed that he would be singing in the film with a mix of Mercury’s own voice and was recording in Abbey Road studios.
Aidan Gillen and Tom Hollander join the cast.
October 2017
Singer posts another killer photo of Malek from the film on Instagram,
December 2017
It’s revealed that production had halted on “Bohemian Rhapsody” due to Singer’s “unexpected unavailability,” which he said regarded a personal health matter. Days later, Fox fired Singer from the film just weeks away from wrapping production, and it’s still slated for release in December of 2018. Fox additionally closed Singer’s offices on their lot, and Singer claims he was fired because Fox wouldn’t give him time to care for a sick parent.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Bryan Singer Fired From Freddie Mercury Biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
'Bohemian Rhapsody': Rami Malek Stuns as Freddie Mercury in New On-Set Photo
Freddie Mercury's Vocal Range Was 'Not More, Not Less' Than Normal, Scientists Say
