Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury in new film

Sacha Baron Cohen is set to play Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic of the Queen frontman.

The band's guitarist, Brian May, confirmed that the 'Ali G' and 'Borat' actor is attached to the project.

He told the BBC's 'HARDtalk' show: "We have Sacha Baron Cohen, which will probably be a shock to a lot of people, but he's been talking with us for a long time,"

The as yet untitled film will be written by Peter Morgan, best known for penning 'The Queen' and 'Frost/Nixon'. However, it will not cover the events leading to his early death. Instead the biopic focuses on the formative years, leading up the band's historic 21-minute contribution to the 1985 Live Aid concert.

May and Queen drummer Roger Taylor will be overseeing the soundtrack, which will include hit songs from the band as well as some of Mercury's solo works.

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Graham King, who won the Best Picture Oscar for 'The Departed', is co-producing the movie along with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's production company Tribeca.

King stated: "Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer so with Sacha in the starring role, coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success."