Rami Malek is set to rock China.
Well, partly.
The 37-year-old actor became a household name around the world for his portrayal of the Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
As a gay man, Mercury became a symbol for embracing one’s own identity, and helped Queen stand out from the dozens of other bands during that era.
The Oscar-winning film also stood out, grossing almost $862 million worldwide.
One of the countries that were not part of that success, however, was China.
Beijing’s extremely conservative stance on homosexuality meant that the motion picture has so far not been released there.
But Bohemian Rhapsody will now make its Chinese debut — albeit, without scenes that depict Mercury’s homosexual encounters.
This is not the first Hollywood film to receive such treatment, as a dance between two male characters was cut of out of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast remake.
