Freddie Mercury Biopic Loses Sacha Baron Cohen

After three years of development, it seems the Freddie Mercury/Queen movie is stuck in limbo after the star, Sacha Baron Cohen, walked out on production.

Last October, guitarist Brian May posted on his own website "filming is now scheduled to start in the Spring, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Freddie. The film should be ready for release early in 2014."

However, there were apparently disputes between SBC and the rest of the surviving members of Queen. The rest of the band has "script and director approval" over the movie, and wanted to keep it PG-rated, whereas SBC wanted a more gritty, realistic, behind-the-scenes R-rated feature.

I'm disappointed in SBC walking off the project, because he is a great actor, one who can totally immerse himself into a character, and on top of that, he can sing! Freddie was larger-than-life, and SBC has made a career portraying over-the-top characters.

The movie doesn't seem to be totally scrapped, we're just waiting to find out who will replace Sacha Baron Cohen in the leading role.