While we were all considerably bummed when Sacha Baren Cohen fell out with Brian May and announced he was no longer slated to play Freddie Mercury in the upcoming Queen/Freddie biopic, we were also pleased when Rami Malek was announced as his replacement. “Ah, yeah, that’ll work”, we thought calmly, then went on with other tasks.

Now, the first footage of Malek embodying the legend has been released, and it finds him reenacting the band’s famous appearance at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985.

He is performing Bohemian Rhaposdy (what else?) with the aid of the also-very-well-cast Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, and Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon.

Check it out.

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine