Neal Preston © Queen Productions Ltd.Queen guitarist Brian May says he’s “incredibly excited” that the production of the long-in-the-works biopic of his band, Bohemian Rhapsody, is finally moving forward.
“It’s like a juggernaut now,” May tells ABC Radio. “Somebody’s turned the ignition on and we’re off.”
The actors portraying Queen’s four members were revealed recently, including Mr. Robot star Rami Malek, who plays the late Freddie Mercury, and lesser-known Gwilym Lee, who has taken on the role of May.
Brian says he thinks Lee is “incredible” and a “great actor.”
May also speaks highly of Malek. Brian notes that while Rami has become fairly famous in the U.S., he isn’t very well known yet in the U.K. and other countries, which he says will work in the actor’s favor when he appears as the famous singer.
“It’ll be easy for people to suspend their disbelief, I think,” May maintains. “I think it would have been a mistake to have him played by, you know, a known face.”
Brian tells ABC Radio that he and Queen drummer Roger Taylor didn’t choose the actors playing the band members, although they were given final approval.
“It wasn’t too hard to say ‘yes’ to these people,” he says of the cast. “They’re all great. And I’ve seen them working together, and I think already…I’ve seen some chemistry, which I think is so exciting. You know, you’re gonna see people who you will believe are a real band.”
The guitar great says he recently visited the film’s hub, where he observed “about a hundred rooms with people beavering away building sets, researching costumes and wigs and makeup, you know, to recreate these periods [of Queen’s history.]”
Bohemian Rhapsody, which is being directed by X-Men filmmaker Bryan Singer, is scheduled to premiere on December 25, 2018.
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