Lucy Boynton to play Freddie Mercury's companion in Queen biopic

Lucy Boynton has been cast as Freddie Mercury's companion in the new Queen biopic.

The actress will play Mary Austin alongside Mr. Robot star Rami Malek, who will portray the band's late singer, and X-Men: Apocalypse's Ben Hardy, who has been tapped to play drummer Roger Taylor. Gwilym Lee will also appear in the film as Brian May and Jurassic Park actor Joe Mazzello rounds out the lead cast as bassist John Deacon.

Austin and Mercury began a long-term relationship in the 1970s, but he later disclosed to her that he had sexual relationships with men and their love affair ended. However, they remained close friends until his death from complications due to AIDS in 1991.

Bryan Singer will be directing Bohemian Rhapsody from a script written by Justin Haythe. The X-Men filmmaker will also produce the project, alongside Graham King and Jim Beach.

Production is due to begin this month (Sep17), ahead of a December, 2018 release, according to The Hollywood Reporter.