Queen guitarist Brian May recently posted a message on his official Web site about the state of the Freddie Mercury biopic, and the word was that despite a delay that has chewed up a couple of years, all systems are still a go.
“The pieces are falling into place,” May wrote on the site (via The Film Stage), confirming that Sacha Baron Cohen was still on board to play the late singer once the production begins filming in the spring. According to May, the film is hoping to have an early 2014 release. “We did make some other plans,” May hints, “but they will have to stay under wraps for now.”
They say to always leave them guessing, and we’re also still guessing as to who might be the director of project. Last we heard, High Fidelity director Stephen Frears was the frontrunner for the gig, though that was back in May, The guitarist doesn’t mention him, and a lot could have changed between then and now. We still think he’d be a solid choice to capture Mercury’s spirit and Queen’s melody. But that’s left to be decided.
We’re equally enthused by Cohen’s continued association with playing the Queen frontman on screen. The actor proved in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd that he can hold a tune, and he has the charisma (and the ego) to hold the stage the way Mercury did. He should be great in the role, and now it sounds like he’ll have the chance to do it very soon. More details as they emerge.
