Bohemian Rhapsody Might End Up Getting A Sequel

Queen at Live Aid in Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody was a massive hit however you define it. The film became the most successful box office musical biopic of all time. It won a slew of awards, culminating in a Best Actor Oscar for Rami Malek's performance as Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury. It's exactly the sort of movie that you would expect Hollywood to make a sequel to, and while you might have thought that wasn't an option here, apparently that may not be where things stand.

Rudi Dolezal, a man responsible for filming several Queen music videos over the years recently told Page Six that there is actually serious discussion going on within the "Queen family" regarding the idea of doing a sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody that would pick up after the Live Aid appearance that ended the original movie.

This technically isn't the first time we've heard reference to a potential sequel. Brian May, Queen guitarist and producer of Bohemian Rhapsody, made comments to that effect several months ago. Although, it didn't really seem like he was being serious. If felt like he was having fun with the idea based on the success the movie was happening. These comments certainly don't sound like they're joking.

It needs to be said that it's very possible there was a miscommunication or a misquote here and the idea of a sequel to Bohemian Rhapsody may not be quite as possible as it seems. It does seem like an odd decision.

Bohemian Rhapsody left the story in a pretty good place that certainly doesn't require a sequel. The entire film was framed about the triumphant return of Queen to Live Aid, and we saw that. Afterward, we got all the details of what happened afterward in on screen text.

Turning the rest of Freddie Mercury's life into a second film may be a bit harder than simply picking up where the first movie left off. Bohemian Rhapsody covered a lot of ground chronologically speaking, a lot more than a sequel would have to work with. The original film also made some pretty significant changes to the Freddie Mercury timeline for dramatic purposes, changes that would then have to become part of any sequel. This would likely make the follow up significantly more historically inaccurate, since it would have to assume things like Freddy's AIDS diagnosis was known to the entire band for years.

Still, it's far from shocking if there are serious conversations currently going on about how a sequel might fly. Nobody wants to let the success of one movie just sit there by itself when an opportunity for more success seems guaranteed. The first Bohemian Rhapsody was a hit with audiences and awards despite lukewarm reaction by critics, so there's no fear of bad reviews here.

If the new movie has enough big Queen performance set pieces, it will likely satisfy the audience that wants it.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.