Brian May Wants Fans to Experience Queen at Their Peak Again, but He’s Having Second Thoughts

Brian May has imagined a future where fans could walk into a venue and feel as though they were watching Queen at the height of its powers. Inspired by immersive productions like ABBA Voyage, the guitarist says he seriously considered creating a permanent experience that could recreate the band in its prime.

According to Loudersound, the idea behind a Queen Avatar show is easy to understand. For younger fans who never saw Freddie Mercury command a stadium, and longtime listeners who would love to revisit that era, the technology could offer something close to stepping back in time. May, however, is no longer as certain that bringing that vision to life would be worth the cost.

Queen Avatar Show Could Bring the Band’s Peak Years Back to Life

May said he began thinking seriously about the concept after seeing ABBA Voyage and the Eagles’ show at the Sphere in Las Vegas. He even spent time planning what a Queen version might look like, imagining a permanent destination where audiences could experience the band live at different points in its history.

The possibilities are obvious. Queen built its reputation on enormous live performances, and Mercury remains one of rock’s most unforgettable frontmen. A carefully designed immersive production could introduce that energy to people who only know the band through recordings and concert footage. Other legacy acts have already embraced similar ideas, with ABBA continuing its successful London residency and Kiss developing its own avatar-based show.

Brian May Says AI Is Giving Him Second Thoughts

The problem, May explained, is how much artificial intelligence such a project might require. He worries about the broader impact AI is having on creative work and does not want Queen to contribute to a system that could undercut other artists. Even when the material being recreated belongs to the band, he remains unsure where the ethical line should sit.

That hesitation makes the idea more complicated than a simple nostalgia project. Queen already has another way to let audiences revisit its classic era, with the band preparing a worldwide cinema screening of its 1986 Budapest concert film. That performance captures Mercury, May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon together near the end of Queen’s original touring years, without digitally recreating anything. For now, the Queen avatar concept remains only a possibility. May still sees the appeal of letting fans experience the band at its peak again, but he seems equally determined not to rush into a version of the future that does not feel right.