Update: It was a joke according to Brian May. Shame.

It appears as if Sacha Baron Cohen is once again developing the Freddie Mercury biopic which he left after concerns from the surviving members of Queen about the possibility of the comedic actor making a “joke” out of the singer’s life. In fact, it was at one point reported that the Cohen had fallen out with the group!

According to Music Week, Queen’s manager of 40 years, Jim Beach, confirmed that Cohen will star, write, direct, and produce the movie at the Artist and Manager Awards 2015 on Friday. Though Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) had been mentioned as a possible replacement for Cohen in regards to playing Mercury, it’s clear that the creator of Ali G and Borat has reached an agreement with Queen about the movie creative direction.

The life of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury should make for a fascinating biopic, and while Cohen is obviously known for his comedic roles (he will next be seen in spy spoof Grimsby), this could very well be an Oscar worthy performance from him. We’ll hopefully have more updates on the project for you soon.