Bryan Singer & Rami Malek Tapped for Freddie Mercury Biopic

Bryan Singer, the director responsible for The Usual Suspects and several of the X-Men films, has been tapped to direct the long-talked-about Freddie Mercury biopic, with Mr. Robot's Rami Malek set to star as the late singer, Deadlinereports.

Bohemian Rhapsody, the working title of the 20th Century Fox/ New Regency production, has been in discussion for years, with several directors, like Tom Hooper, Stephen Frears, and Dexter Fletcher, all previously attached. Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw both were announced earlier to play the lead role, but each backed out due to creative differences.

This time, however, things look to be moving forward--at least, according to Singer's exciting Instagram post:

#bohemianrhapsody #queen #freddiemercury #brianmay #rogertaylor #johndeacon #grahamking #fox #newregency Looking forward to @ramimalek @whoismrrobot playing #Freddie photo @therealmickrock

A photo posted by Bryan Singer (@bryanjaysinger) on Nov 4, 2016 at 3:23pm PDT

The script for the film is written by Theory of Everything's Anthony McCarten and will follow the band and, most specifically, Mercury. Fox and Regency previously teamed up for Best Picture winners 12 Years a Slave and Birdman, as well as the highly-acclaimed The Revenant.

Filming is scheduled to begin on the production early next year.