Yahoo News Bohemian Rhapsody with Cohen would have been a "disaster"
It’s no secret that Bohemian Rhapsody had a pretty rocky journey to the big screen, with the movie in development since 2010.
Before Rami Malek came on board to play Freddie Mercury, at one point the movie had Sacha Baron Cohen attached to portray the Queen frontman.
The Ali G star eventually left due to creative differences, though Queen guitarist Brian May has now claimed that this version of the movie would have been a “disaster”.
“Well, that was a near-disaster,” he told Louder. “I think we realised just in time what a disaster that was going to be. And it actually wasn’t rocket science to figure that out. But yeah, that’s one of the rocks that we nearly hit.
“I think we were all nervous in the beginning, when the casting process was going on. Because yes, that’s a real tough thing to contemplate – somebody playing the part of you.”
Lots of chatter has arisen as to why exactly Cohen left the project, with everything from wanting to make a ‘harder’ biopic to taking issue with the band wanting to “depict [themselves] as great as possible”.
However, fellow member Roger Taylor also recently weighed-into the speculation, saying: "There was a lot of talk about Sacha and stuff, [but] it was never really on, you know.
“I don't think he took it seriously enough, didn't take Freddie seriously enough. But I think, really, it's a long road, but we're at the end of it now.”
However it would have turned out, critics have heaped praise on Malek’s performance as Mercury – even if the eventual movie has been viewed less favourably.
Bohemian Rhapsody is out now in UK and US cinemas.
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