Bryan Singer may direct Rami Malek in Freddie Mercury biopic

It looks as if the long in-development Freddie Mercury movie is at long last taking flight, with a big name director set to take the helm, and an acclaimed small screen star set to pick up the broken microphone stand.

Deadline report that ‘X-Men’ director Bryan Singer is in talks to direct ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ a biopic of the iconic British rock band Queen, with Rami Malek - Emmy-winning star of Amazon’s ‘Mr Robot’ – set to take the lead as the late frontman.

Action-packed Wonder Woman trailer
Live-action Voltron movie in the works
Doctor Strange whitewashing row reignites

After many years in development hell in the hands of producer Graham King of GK Films, the project is now said to be ‘on the fast track’ at 20th Century Fox and New Regency.

Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor remain on board as executive producers (bassist John Deacon has long since retired from the band).

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ famously came close to being made with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Mercury, until creative differences saw him drop out. Later, Ben Whishaw was set to star with Dexter Fletcher directing.

The project may be something of a change of pace for Singer, who has directed mainly blockbusters in recent years (‘X-Men: Apocalypse,’ ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past,’ ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’), but made his name on more intimate, character-based films such as ‘The Usual Suspects’ and ‘Apt Pupil.’ He’s also tackled a real-life story before in World War 2 drama ‘Valkyrie.’

The latest draft of the screenplay is from Anthony McCarten (‘The Theory of Everything’), and production is provisionally set to get underway early in 2017.

One of the best-loved bands of the 1970s and 1980s and pioneers of stadium rock, Queen have sold over 300 million records. Mercury died from AIDS in 1991.

Picture Credit: WENN