Prior to his involvement in USA’s excellent Mr. Robot series (our review), Rami Malek was often restricted to tertiary roles. From Night at the Museum to The Pacific to Short Term 12, the 36-year-old has no shortage of credits for supporting characters, and even played a small, yet fairly crucial role in Supermassive’s video game sleeper hit, Until Dawn.
That all changes with the release of Bohemian Rhapsody, though, which is poised to place Rami Malek front and center as the great Freddie Mercury. And though a handful of film fans expressed some concern about his casting, those fears were quickly silenced following the unveiling of the actor as Queen’s former frontman.
Whether it’s the signature white vest and blue jeans ensemble, or the way in which Malek channels Mercury’s flamboyant performances, the attention to detail here is uncanny, and Bohemian Rhapsody is now among our most-anticipated films of 2018.
Directed by Bryan Singer, we know the biopic unfolds across a “15-year period, starting in 1970 when Mercury met his bandmates, up through their legendary Live Aid performance in 1985,” and though it’ll be some time yet before the studio unveils the first teaser, Singer took to Instagram last night to deliver the next best thing: an action shot of Malek mid-performance as the inimitable Freddie Mercury.
And yes, that’s a genuine behind-the-scenes shot from Bohemian Rhapsody, not archival footage one would expect to find on the History Channel. It’s unclear if this image was taken by Bryan Singer himself, or another member of the faux crowd, but there’s no denying that Rami Malek owns the stage as Freddie.
Also starring Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Joseph Mazzello, Allen Leech, and Lucy Boynton, Bohemian Rhapsody opens Stateside on December 25th, 2018.