The Queen guitarist takes to his blog to update fans on the long-gestating Freddie Mercury film.

“Well, it was just Roger [Taylor] and Jim Beach and myself … we are a small cottage industry !! Our main agenda was the Freddie film … which, I’m happy to tell you, is on course,” says May. “Much of our discussion was about contractual things … it’s pretty complex … and determining who is responsible for what. The pieces are all falling into place, though we are now on a slightly later schedule.”

Rather than opt for a hologram, the film has cast an actor with an uncanny resemblance to the late singer. “Filming is now scheduled to start in the Spring, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Freddie. The film should be ready for release early in 2014,” he says.

May ended on a bittersweet note: “We did make some other plans, but they will have to stay under wraps for now. Being in Queen is – bizarrely – as full of surprising twists and turns as ever – 40 years since we first got together, and 20 years after losing Freddie. But of course Freddie is in so many ways very much alive. He must be wryly smiling somewhere.”

Cohen is best known for his comedic work in film and television, most notably for his satirical characters Ali G, Bruno, and Borat, the last of which finds Cohen donning a very Mercury-esque mustache.