It’s been just over two years since we’ve heard about a biopic on the late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury. Led by Sacha Baron Cohen, producers have repeatedly encouraged us that things were moving forward and we finally got a step closer when it was announced this summer that The Queen helmer Stephen Frears was at the top of the list to helm. But with the director moving on to another project, some questioned what the fate of this biopic is, and we finally have an update.

Queen guitarist Brian May, who is heavily involved in the development of the film, took to his official site to issue an update, which can be read below:

Ah … I promised news of yesterday’s Queen band meeting. Well, it was just Roger 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. 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 – 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. 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 !!!

While no mention of a director (after all, Frears was just one in contention), it’s nice to know things will finally be moving forward next year after some delays. Getting the band’s input is one of the most vital elements, so hopefully we’ll have some more official news soon. Peter Morgan wrote the initial script, but Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson, who also have biopic experience with Ali and Nixon, have taken the latest pass. The project will follow the band’s early years and conclude with their Live Aid performance in 1985, but not highlight Mercury’s death six years later.

Are you looking forward to seeing the biopic in 2014?