Brian May: 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with Sacha would have been 'disaster'

Queen guitarist Brian May has said that making Bohemian Rhapsody with Sacha Baron Cohen would have been a "disaster". Before Rami Malek immortalised the band's frontman Freddie Mercury on celluloid, Cohen was chosen to play the role in the biopic. The comic had spent months perfecting his vocals for the role but walked away from the project amid rumours he had fallen out with May and drummer Roger Taylor over his planned portrayal of their late friend and bandmate.

The Ali G star later said he left the film due to "creative differences".

In an interview to Louder, May said, "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."

Taylor also recently weighed into the speculation and said Cohen "didn't take Freddie seriously enough".

"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... But I think, really, it's a long road, but we're at the end of it now," he said.