Sacha Baron Cohen set to play Freddie Mercury

Sacha Baron Cohen has been cast to play Queen front man Freddie Mercury in a new film that will focus on his band's formative years, leading up to Queen’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985. 

I think Cohen is a great choice to play the rock legend, he's a decent actor, and he sure looks a hell of a lot like the musician. There's no word on if Cohen will actually sing any of these classic rock songs, it would be interesting to see him try, but I don't think he's got what it take to replicate what Mercury could do. I imagine they will just remaster Mercury's songs for the movie. 

The right to this film package includes the songs Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions , Another One Bites The Dust and You’re My Best Friend.

It should be interesting to see who else they cast as the rest of the band. 

The movie is being written by Peter Morgan who also has written a few other great films based on historical figures, films such as Frost/NixonThe QueenThe Last King of ScotlandDamned United and most recently Clint Eastwood's Hereafter.

According to Deadline who broke the news,

This is the first time the surviving members of Queen--Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon--have licensed songs and music publishing rights for a movie about the band and they formed Queen Films to be part of the production team on the film.

GK Films' Graham King confirmed the deal saying,

Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and a music brand all unto itself. Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter’s screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success.

This sounds like it could end up being a great film. Mercury died November 24, 1991 of complications from AIDS, but that won't be the subject of the film. 

What do you all think about Sacha Baron Cohen taking on the role of Freddie Mercury?

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