Previously, the Bohemian Rhapsody teaser trailer showed that Mr. Robot‘s Rami Malek was set to do as much justice to Freddie Mercury as humanly possible. The long-gestating project has been fraught with difficulties, including director Bryan Singer’s exit (although he’ll get the credit). And while the teaser focused on the band’s electric live performances and Mercury’s unconventional approach to rock-star-dom, the full trailer delves further into the band’s inner dynamics with highs and lows — one telling moment showing Ben Hardy’s Roger Taylor growing frustrated at having to perform yet another “Galileo!” — all (mostly) sprinkled with humor during their quest to “get experimental.”
Notably, this trailer also appears to address previous criticisms that 20th Century Fox may have downplayed Mercury’s bisexuality and battle with AIDS, which was addressed in a synopsis as him “facing a life-threatening illness.” It’s been known for awhile that the film isn’t a traditional biopic and won’t focus on the final days of Mercury’s life, and producers wanted to celebrate the band as a whole while highlighting the positives. Still, the trailer does show Mercury looking a little worse-for-wear at 1985’s Live Aid (after being told to slow down) and asking, “What if I don’t have time?” The moment’s a sobering one.
Bohemian Rhapsody also stars Gwilym Lee as guitarist Brian May, Joseph Mazzello as bassist John Deacon, and the aforementioned Hardy as drummer Roger Taylor. The film hits theaters on November 2.
