The idea of doing a biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen had apparently been suggested to the surviving band members before, but they had previously rejected the idea since it would be so difficult to turn Mercury’s story into the right sort of movie.
It was a long road to the screen for Bohemian Rhapsody, but the movie almost didn’t get made at all.
However, eventually they apparently all realized that if they didn’t do it, somebody else would.