British actor Ben Whishaw has been cast to play the late Freddie Mercury in a film about the Queen frontman’s life. Whishaw is replacing Sacha Baron Cohen, who was originally set to play Mercury but left the film due to “creative differences” this past summer.
Whishaw is best known for his role as Q in the James Bond film Skyfall. He recently appeared in film Cloud Atlas and was one of six actors to portray Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. The actor currently has a pretty busy schedule. He is currently shooting a Ron Howard film titled In the Heart of the Sea about the sinking of the whaleship Essex with Chris Hemsworth and is expected to reprise his role as Q in the next James Bond movie set for release in 2015.
Peter Morgan penned the script for the Freddie Mercury biopic, which will begin with the early years of Queen and lead up to the band’s performance at Live Aid in 1985. Dexter Fletcher is set to direct the film.
Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor will oversee the soundtrack to the biopic, which will include some of the band’s biggest hits, like “We Are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” and “We Will Rock You.”
A release date for the film has yet to be announced.
