The success of 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody – the film that followed the legendary rock band Queen and their rise to fame – was the start of a new era in rockstar biopics. Followed by Elton John's dazzling Rocketman and the unauthorised Stardust – which provided a limp stab at capturing a young, curiously-accented David Bowie. Nevertheless – Bo-Rap was a stonking triumph, and even earnt Rami Malek – who played Freddie Mercury – an Oscar for Best Actor.
Now, guitarist Brian May has hinted that a sequel might be on the cards. Speaking on an Instagram Live, May teased that Queen are "looking at ideas" for a follow-up film, although admits that the original, which grossed in over $900 million at box office, will be "hard to follow".
He explains: "We are looking at it. Yeah, we have been looking at ideas. It’s going to be hard to follow that one as none of us could have predicted how massive that was going to be.
"We put a lot of heart and soul into making it and no one could have predicted [its success] as it was bigger than Gone With The Wind. But yes, we are thinking maybe it could happen, but it would have to be a great script. It’s going to take a while to figure that out.”
May's newfound optimism for a possible follow-up sounds promising, however it's a dramatic shift from comments he made earlier this year, where he told Rolling Stone: "We don’t really think there’s another movie there. That’s the long and the short of it...There are other ideas that we had, but I don’t think a sequel will happen. But we have looked at it pretty seriously.”
The guitarist also stated that Queen weren't interested in a film focused on Freddie Mercury’s final years of his battle with HIV/Aids. He explains: “I don’t think that would be an uplifting thing to do. I’m not saying it’s impossible, because there is a great story there, but we don’t feel that’s the story we want to tell at the moment.”
