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 the photo above, which comes to us courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, we can at least say that he definitely looks the part and seems to have truly disappeared into the role.
Currently in production, with original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor on board as music producers, the film is based on a script from Theory of Everything writer Anthony McCarten and has Bryan Singer behind the camera. From what we understand, it’ll spotlight “a 15-year period, starting in 1970 when Mercury met his bandmates, up through their legendary Live Aid performance in 1985.”
According to Singer, it’ll act as a celebration of the musician’s life, as he told EW the following in a recent interview:
“It won’t just be the dark Freddie story, but that being said, that also will be honored. It’s about collaboration. It’s a celebration.”
What’s also interesting to note is that while Malek will be doing a good deal of singing for the role, Bohemian Rhapsody will also use some of Mercury’s actual recordings. Talking to EW, the actor explained:
“We’re going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible. I’m in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I’m not working on my acting.”
Bohemian Rhapsody will arrive in theatres on December 25, 2018. We imagine it’ll be a while before we actually see some footage of Malek in action, but in the meantime, be sure to share your thoughts on this first photo of the actor as Freddie Mercury in the comments section below!