Ben Whishaw confirmed as Freddie Mercury in upcoming biopic

With Sacha Baron Cohen having dropped out earlier this year, the role of Freddie Mercury in his forthcoming biopic is no longer up for grabs, with Ben Whishaw confirmed to take the role.

Whishaw was actually selected as the choice of Mercury’s Queen bandmates back in October, but after screen-testing for the part, Deadline reports the young actor has now officially signed on.

In addition to that casting news, the report also reveals that Dexter Fletcher has been chosen to direct the film, only his third major picture after Wild Bill and Sunshine On Leith .

The script has been penned by Peter Morgan, and will follow Mercury’s journey from the formation of the band in the early ‘70s, through to their famous Live Aid set in 1985.

The project has yet to receive an official title or release date, but with the wheels now in motion on this one, hopefully we will have some more specifics in the next few weeks.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.