Freddie Mercury biopic all set as Brian May gives Rami Malek the OK to play rock legend

Rocker Brian May has stepped back from the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic because he's convinced he's found the right guy to play the late Queen leader.

Actor Rami Malek has replaced Sacha Baron Cohen after the British funnyman fell out with May and his bandmate Roger Taylor over their artistic vision for the film, and now for the first time in over a decade, the guitarist is happy to let producer Graham King make his film without any interference from the group.

"We have our star, we have Rami Malek as our Freddie, who I think will be incredible," May tells Rolling Stone. "He has a great presence, and he's utterly dedicated to the project, which is wonderful.

"We've spent a little time with him. He's completely living and breathing Freddie already, which is just wonderful to see. And we have a fabulous producer in Graham King, who's probably the greatest independent producer in or out of Hollywood. And he's put together a great team. And we have a really, really great script. Finally."

May reveals it has taken him 12 years to come to this point, and now he's happy to take a backseat and let the filmmakers do their thing: "I think we're very close now to an announcement, which will signify that Fox has given the green light to actually supply the money," he adds.

"We sort of sit there like the grandparents of the project in a sense and we'll be taking care of the music, supervising the way it's done, but we're not really making the film. We've stayed with it for the last 12 years to shepherd it to the right place where we feel it would do Freddie justice. We only get one shot at this, and that's it."

Bryan Singer will direct the movie, which will also feature Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor.