We’ll be the first to admit that we weren’t sure what to make of the casting of Mr. Robot star Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in the upcoming biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. But after seeing the actor in action thanks to a recent set video (seen above), we can safely say that 20th Century Fox picked the right man for the job.
While we don’t know too much about the film just yet, it will reportedly spotlight “a 15-year period, starting in 1970 when Mercury met his bandmates, up through their legendary Live Aid performance in 1985.” Now, with production well underway, the rest of the cast is starting to assemble and today, Deadline brings word that a key role has been filled. That’d be the part of Jim Hutton, Freddie’s boyfriend.
Bringing him to life will be Aaron McCusker, who’s perhaps best known for his work on Showtime’s Shameless. It’s unknown how big of a role this is, but we imagine it’ll be sizeable. After all, Hutton was an important part of the singer’s story. He was with Mercury for the last six years of his life, nursing him when he was ill and standing by his side right up until he died.
Behind the scenes of Bohemian Rhapsody, and in order to ensure absolute authenticity, Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor are on board as music producers, with Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything) on script duties. And though Malek will no doubt steal all the headlines as Freddie – not unlike Mercury himself all those years ago – Bohemian Rhapsody also stars Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Joe Mazzello as John Deacon and Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor.
Originally earmarked for Sacha Baron Cohen, it’s fair to say that Rami Malek is beginning to win over the naysayers with his portrayal of the great Freddie Mercury, and we simply can’t wait to clock eyes on some official footage.
Looking further afield, Bohemian Rhapsody is currently penciled in for release on December 25th, 2018, placing it in the same vicinity of James Wan’s Aquaman pic.
