As is the case with many films, “Bohemian Rhapsody” didn’t have the smoothest road to the big screen. However, well before the highly-publicized drama surrounding star Rami Malek and director Bryan Singer, ‘Rhapsody’ was an entirely different film, with a totally different star and director attached. Almost five years ago, Sacha Baron Cohen was signed to portray Freddie Mercury on the big screen and director Stephen Frears was on board to direct. And wow, the duo’s version of the film would have been a very different interpretation of the band’s career.
In a new interview with Vulture, which details the long, arduous development process of the film, Frears opens up about what type of film he and Baron Cohen were going to make and how it never quite fit with what the surviving members of Queen were hoping to create.
“Sacha wanted to make a very outrageous film, which I would imagine Freddie Mercury would have approved of,” Frears said. “Outrageous in terms of his homosexuality and outrageous in terms of endless naked scenes. Sacha loved all of that.”
For those that have seen Malek’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” you know that the version that is in theaters now touches on the debauchery of Mercury’s private life, but never fully dives in, leading our review to call it “sexless” and “shallow.” Clearly, what Baron Cohen was fighting for was a more adult take on the controversial private life of the legendary lead singer.
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The report also details the full vision that the actor had for the film. “It was a biopic of Freddie more than the story of the band, although a portion of the structure dealt with the ups and downs of the band, but always from Freddie’s POV,” a former Sony executive said to Vulture.
And to further illustrate how different the Baron Cohen version might have been, before Frears was involved, the actor and producers met with numerous directors, including Tom Hooper and David Fincher. One can only imagine what a David Fincher “Bohemian Rhapsody” would have looked like with Baron Cohen leading the way.
Ultimately, it was not meant to be, as Baron Cohen departed the project after admitting his view of the film clashed with the surviving members of Queen’s vision. And since those guys controlled the music, and you can’t make “Bohemian Rhapsody” without the titular song, the actor stepped away.
“You could always tell there would be trouble with the rest of the band,” says Frears. “Because [Sacha] was so outrageous and they weren’t. They were much more conventional.”
While “Bohemian Rhapsody” appears to be poised for a big box office run, as the film is sure to please fans as it leans heavily into the music of Queen, you can’t help but wonder if film fans would have been better serviced with Baron Cohen’s “outrageous” version. We’ll never know, but it could have been something special.