James Bond Actor Ben Whishaw To Play Freddie Mercury

James Bond star Ben Whishaw has been cast as Freddie Mercury in an upcoming movie biopic about the Queen singer.

!The 33-year-old actor, who’s best known for playing Q in Skyfall, has been strongly rumoured for the role after Queen drummer Roger Taylor dropped a heavy hint in October.

Whishaw replaces comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who was due to play Mercury but pulled out of the role in July due to creative differences.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Peter Morgan, the as-yet-untitled movie follows Queen in the lead-up to their historic Live Aid performance in 1985.

Roger Taylor and Brian May are overseeing the soundtrack, which is set to boast Queen’s massive anthems ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Will Rock You’.

Alongside his huge role in Skyfall, Ben Whishaw has also appeared in Cloud Atlas, Bright Star and Brideshead Revisited, the TV shows Nathan Barley and The Hour, plus he received critical acclaim for his stage role in Hamlet.

It’s expected that he’ll reprise his role of inventor Q in the next installment of the James Bond series in 2015.

Ben Whishaw photo: Columbia Pictures/MGM