It was an uphill battle, but its finally here: after years of hemming and hawing, false starts, casting swaps, and a damning directing fiasco, the trailer for the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody has emerged online. The film stars Rami Malek (and a set of heroic fake teeth) as late lead singer Freddie Mercury, and though the trailer clocks in at just under two minutes, it still manages to cram in several Queen hits—from “Another One Bites the Dust” to “We Will Rock You,” to the title track, because hey, we all know why were here.
Malek makes for a pretty convincing Mercury dupe once hes in all the right costumes and wigs, bopping around as the energetic frontman. We also get a brief glimpse at a nearly unrecognizable Mike Myers as a bewigged record executive of sorts, who warns Mercury that “Bohemian Rhapsody” is too long. “It goes on forever! Its six bloody minutes!” he gripes—a fun wink at the actors own history with the song.
It is a miracle that the biopic exists at all, really. Its been in the works since 2010, and was originally supposed to star Sacha Baron Cohen as the lead singer. However, after the actor clashed with Queen lead guitarist Brian May, he exited the project, which then languished in development hell for years. Malek, who became a star thanks to the breakout success of Mr. Robot in 2015, was cast last July, and the project was finally put on the fast track, with director Bryan Singer at the helm.
However, trouble reared its head again last November, when production was halted on the film—reportedly because Singer failed to return to the set after the Thanksgiving holiday. There were also reports that he clashed with Malek and co-star Tom Hollander. Singer was ultimately fired from the film in early December, and the offices of his Bad Hat Harry production company were subsequently shut down on the 20th Century Fox lot. Singer released a statement shortly afterward, saying he had taken time off of the film to deal with “pressing health matters” concerning one of his parents, which ultimately took a “serious toll” on his own health. He also denied claims that he left the film because of disputes with Malek.
Director Dexter Fletcher was ushered in to wrap the project. The pair are credited as co-directors on the films IMDb page, but there is no mention of the directors on the films trailer or publicity materials thus far. Bohemian Rhapsody hits theaters on November 2.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Cannes Film Festival 2018: The Must-See LooksYohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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