He will, he will rock you

Sacha Baron Cohen has signed up to play Freddie Mercury in a new biopic of the Queen star.

Peter Morgan, who has made a career out of writing such biographical films as Frost/Nixon, The Last King Of Scotland and the Tony Blair trilogy that began with The Queen, is working on the new script.

The filmmakers have rights to a catalogue of Queen's hits and shooting begins next year.

Producer Graham King said: ‘Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and a music brand all unto itself.

‘Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter’s screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success.’

The currently untitled drama will focus on the years leading up to Queen’s appearance at the Live Aid concert in 1985.

Published: 17 Sep 2010