Ben Whishaw cast as Freddie Mercury in new biopic movie of Queen frontman

Earlier this year actor Sacha Baron Cohen left the Freddie Mercury biopic project after some sort of disagreement with the surviving members of Queen. Basically the band did not feel that the Bruno star was a good fit for taking on this iconic role, but they did have one actor in mind: Ben Whishaw. This week we can confirm that the members of Queen got their wish because the Skyfall star has officially been cast as the late frontman in this Dexter Fletcher film!

The director, Fletcher, was also recently announced and this news is pretty interesting as well. Fletcher is mainly known for his acting roles in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Kick Ass (to name a few), so having him direct such an important film is pretty impressive.

Deadline reports:

"Fletcher has been meeting the band and getting a feel for the Queen story, and that the intention is for the movie to get up and running next year regardless of whether Sony steps up. With the band's songs part of the package, the pic will tell the formative coming-of-age story of the group, culminating in Queen headlining Live Aid in 1985. Queen's performance is considered one of rock's all-time great concert appearances."

Meanwhile, the news of Whishaw's casting was not too surprising considering Queen was hoping the actor would be cast in the role.

Earlier this year Roger Taylor, Queen's drummer, revealed the band's casting hopes for this movie project in an interview with BBC's The One Show. When asked if he and the other surviving members had an actor in mind for the role of Freddie Mercury, Taylor responded, "B.W." When pressed about the initials, asking if they stood for Ben Whishaw, Taylor answered: "Well, we hope so."

Click HERE to find out why Queen didn't want Cohen in the role!