Movies inspired by the true-life stories of music icons are nothing new in the Hollywood landscape. We've seen films for Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, James Brown, and plenty more -- too many to count, in fact. However, there's one musical figure that the film industry has yet to properly bring to life, until now. We now have our first official look at Mr. Robot star Rami Malek as Freddy Mercury in Bryan Singer's upcoming Queen biopic (aptly titled Bohemian Rhapsody), and the 36-year-old actor shows a shocking resemblance to the rock and roll icon. Take a look and judge for yourself.
Right off the bat, it's arguably pretty clear that Rami Malek looks like the legendary front man. He's rocking the mustache to an insane degree, and even though this is only a still image of Malek in character, it looks like he has managed to capture the flamboyant and charismatic stage presence that made Mercury so beloved in his day. Now we just need to see if he can sing as well as the man he's portraying, as part of the movie will use recordings of Malek, while other portions will use recordings of Mercury himself.
Also worth noting is the costume shown in this picture from EW. Freddy Mercury wore enough crazy outfits in his time to clothe a rock and roll army, but this one is particularly notable because it's the same outfit he wore during Queen's 1985 Live Aid performance, only six years before the singer died of AIDS. This seems important because it means this scene is likely one of the later moments in the movie, as Bohemian Rhapsody will defy traditional "biopic" conventions by specifically focusing on Queen from 1970 to 1985, rather than the entire life story of a single band member.
Seeing Rami Malek capture the look of Freddy Mercury so well is the culmination of years of development on this project. Bohemian Rhapsody has gone through a series of ups and downs over the course of its journey to the silver screen, with some high-profile stars (including Borat lead Sasha Baron Cohen) attached at one time or another. That said, the wait now appears to have been worth it, because Rami Malek arguably looks like the man for the job.
Of course, Rami Malek's Freddy Mercury isn't the sole focus of Bohemian Rhapsody. The surviving members of Queen are working closely with Bryan Singer on the development of the film, and their silver screen counterparts have already signed on as well. Only two weeks ago it was announced that The Tourist's Gwilym Lee will portray Brian May, Jurassic Park's Joe Mazzello will portray Roger Taylor, and X-Men: Apocalypse's Ben Hardy will portray John Deacon.
Rami Malek will take the stage as Freddy Mercury when Bohemian Rhapsody makes its theatrical debut on December 25, 2018. That's still a long way off, however, so make sure to take a look at our movie premiere guide to get more details on all of the films still to debut in 2017!
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