Bryan Singer Fired From Directing Queen Biopic After Repeatedly Disappearing From Set
Zack Sharf
UPDATE (December 7, 2017): Dexter Fletcher has been hired to replace Bryan Singer on “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Fletcher is an English actor and director best known for starring in “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” as well as directing “Sunshine on Leith” and “Eddie the Eagle.”
Bryan Singer has been fired from directing the Queen biopic drama “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Variety reports. News previously broke on December 1 that production on the film was being suspended “due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer,” but now Singer has been fired due to being missing from filming and set conflicts involving Singer and star Rami Malek.
According to Variety, Singer has been absent from the production on numerous occasions throughout filming. The movie, which stars Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, has been filming in London. Cinematographer Thomas Newton Sigel has reportedly been stepping into the director’s chair on days when Singer went missing. A representative from the Directors Guild of America was brought to the set to monitor the production.
Singer’s publicist, Simon Halls at Slate PR, told The Washington Post that he no longer represented the director, but gave no reason why.
Singer’s absence pushed Malek to complain to the studio and reportedly resulted in co-star Tom Hollander briefly quitting the film.The tension between Singer and Malek reportedly led to a confrontation between the two that ended with the director throwing an object at the star. The two were believed to have settled their differences, but Singer did not return to the set at all after the Thanksgiving holiday, which is what led to the final decision from 20th Century Fox to fire him.
Singer has shot more than half of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Only two weeks left of filming were set to take place on the film, which is expected to announce a new director within the next few days. The film is slated for U.S. release on December 25, 2018.
Read IndieWire’s timeline on Singer’s rocky career here.
