A brand new trailer has been released for Bohemian Rhapsody, the blockbuster film that will tell the story of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s rise to fame as the frontman of one of the world’s biggest bands.
The biopic is set to be released in cinemas on November 1 and stars Rami Malek as Freddie, with the new trailer showing the moment Mercury met his future bandmates for the first time in 1970, after watching Brian May and Roger Taylor perform in their band Smile.
In the clip Mercury, who died of HIV/AIDS in 1991, says “I enjoyed the show. I also, I write music” before learning that the group’s lead singer has recently departed leaving a slot open for Mercury, and the creation of Queen.
With the tagline “The only thing more extraordinary than their music is his story”, the trailer teases the band’s rise to fame and shows the origins of hit track ‘We Will Rock You’, as guitarist May, played by Gwilym Lee, tells his bandmates: “I want to give the audience a song they can perform.” To which Mercury replies: “What’s the lyric?”
The trailer also shows the band’s struggle to get their music played on the radio, with one DJ declaring that no one will play Queen. Mercury, Taylor, May and fourth bandmate John Deacon are also seen in the studio recording their iconic hit ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
Queen’s legendary July 1985 Live Aid performance at London’s Wembley Stadium will also feature in the film, which is still widely regarded as one of the best live performances of all time.
The film will also touch upon the tensions surrounding Mercury’s private life and sexuality and the trailer shows him being questioned about his personal life during a press conference.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Malek said: “Here’s a man that would sing ‘We Are The Champions’ in an arena to thousands of people and they’re all singing it back to him. His ability to unify people, no matter who they are, was so far ahead of it’s time. I can’t think of anyone else that was capable of that.”
The three-minute clip ends with Freddie’s bandmates telling him “You’re a legend,” to which he replies, “We’re all legends.”