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After years of delays, production has finally started on a biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.

Actors including Johnny Depp, Ben Whishaw and Sacha Baron Cohen had been linked to the role, only to drop out.

Producers finally cast Mr Robot star Rami Malek as the Bohemian Rhapsody singer, and the first photo of him in character was released on Tuesday.

Wearing Mercury's Live Aid outfit, Malek looks uncannily like the flamboyant star.

"When you're able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror, it's a very affirming moment," Malek told Entertainment Weekly.

The biopic will chronicle the story of Queen from 1970, when Mercury teamed up with Brian May and Roger Taylor, until the band's performance at Live Aid in 1985, six years before the singer died of complications from Aids.

X-Men director Bryan Singer is in charge of the film. He described it as "not a traditional biopic", but instead a celebration of the band's music.

The movie recently cast Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello and Gwilym Lee as Queen's other members, and guitarist Brian May posted a photo of the full line-up to his Instagram account on Wednesday morning.

Last week, the star also posted a photo of the Live Aid stage - which has been recreated for the movie.

The film, which has yet to receive an official title, is due to hit cinemas at Christmas 2018.

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