The long forgotten Freddie Mercury film based on his career with Queen has been given new life with The Theory of Everything writer Anthony McCarten joining the project, according to Deadline.
The film was put on hold after Sasha Baron Cohen departed the project due to creative differences with Queen’s surviving band members. Until now, the project just floated in development hell, but with the coupe of landing McCarten to write the next draft, production on the film might hopefully speed up. A possible title for the project has been “Bohemian Rhapsody” after their popular song, which is a well known fan favorite displaying both Mercury’s amazing vocals and the band at its best.
McCarten wrote last year’s Best Picture nominee Theory of Everything, for which he too earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is currently working on the script for Darkest Hour, another biopic based on Winston Churchill’s toughest times as Prime Minister during the time that Nazi Germany was taking over Europe.
The film is being produced by GK Films and Queen Films, with GK Films’ Graham King spear-heading and keeping the project alive even after all the turmoil of losing Cohen as the lead actor. Now the producers have moved on to casting new lead actor, and their top choice is Ben Whishaw, who has been tearing it up this year with appearances in Spectre, In The Heart Of The Sea, The Danish Girl, The Lobster and Suffragette. He portrayed Bond’s handy tech man Q in the two latest 007 blockbusters, Skyfall and Spectre. No deal has been reached with Whishaw, but we’ll keep you updated as more information surfaces.
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