Sacha Baron Cohen will star opposite

Blake Lively is reportedly in talks to star opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in a big screen biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's life.

The Gossip Girl actress and Ryan Reynold's wife, is said to be lined up to play Mary Austin in the movie with Cohen already signed on to play the flamboyant singer, according to The Sun.

Whilst Blake's involvement is still unconfirmed Sacha is already preparing for his role which is due to be filmed later this year. The Les Miserables star is said to be taking singing lessons in case his voice will feature in the movie's singing segments, as welll as working on the singer's posh accent.

Queen guitarist Brian May said that Sacha is “the driving force” on the film project with a Hollywood source revealing to The Sun this week that “Sacha is a huge Queen fan and is focused on getting Freddie’s mannerisms, style and speech perfect. He is working on building his vocals. It is a uphill task, because Freddie has such a unique power and tone.”
Blake would be playing the pivotal role of Austin in the film if she does land the part, although Mercury is well known for his gay relationships he and Austin had a long-term relationship in the early 1970's after meeting through guitarist May.

Freddie and Mary lived together for several years until the mid-1970s when Mercury had an affair with a male
American record executive at Elektra Records. The former couple remained incredibly close though with Mercury saying of Austin in a 1985 interview: "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary [Austin], but it's simply impossible.

"The only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me."

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/109266/Blake-Lively-To-Play-Freddie-Mercurys-Girlfriend-In-Queen-Biopic