Bryan Singer Fired From Queen Biopic Due To On-Set Drama
By Ben Pearson/Dec. 4, 2017 3:07 pm EST
Now there’s a new non-Star Wars-related firing that’s making waves. Bryan Singer, the director of movies like X-Men, The Usual Suspects, and Jack the Giant Slayer, has been fired from Bohemian Rhapsody, 20th Century Fox’s Queen biopic that stars Mr. Robot actor Rami Malek as frontman Freddie Mercury. Yep, another one bites the dust.
Actor Tom Hollander, who plays Queen manager Jim Beach, actually quit the movie because of Singer’s behavior, but was eventually persuaded to return to the production.
Cinematographer Thomas Newton Sigel stepped in and directed a few days’ worth of shooting while Singer mysteriously vanished. A representative for Singer blamed the director’s absence on “a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family,” but other reports indicate this is something of a pattern for Singer, who has previously vanished from the sets of X-Men: Apocalypse and Superman Returns.
The studio ended up terminating Singer’s employment under his pay-or-play contract, which, as far as I understand it, means that Singer was paid in full even though he ended up getting fired. There was a Director’s Guild of America representative on Bohemian Rhapsody’s set, and since Singer did the bulk of the directing work himself, he’ll likely end up getting sole directing credit for the film when all is said and done.
For now, the movie’s future is up in the air. There’s about two more weeks of filming scheduled, but a replacement director has not been announced yet. We’ll be sure to keep you informed as soon as we hear an update about someone else sliding into the director’s chair.
