Director of Queen biopic Bryan Singer fired due to repeated absence from sets

With just two weeks of shooting left for Fox’s Queen biopic  Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek, the director Bryan Singer has been fired from his position reports  Variety. [caption id=“attachment_4242909” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Director Bryan Singer. Image from Twitter/@SuperBroMovies.[/caption] While the studio did not elaborate beyond, “Bryan Singer is no longer the director of Bohemian Rhapsody”, the decision to fire Singer is said to be due to his repeated failure to show up on the sets of the film. The termination follows Fox Studio’s statement from 1 December, announcing the temporary halting of production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the “unexpected unavailability” of Bryan Singer. Singer issued a statement from his behalf in which he addressed his removal from the project citing a “gravely ill parent” and his own failing health. “I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, but Fox would not permit me to do so because I needed to temporarily put my health, and the health of my loved ones, first. Unfortunately, the studio was unwilling to accommodate me and terminated my services. This was not my decision and it was beyond my control” said Singer, according to the  Hollywood Reporter . Apart from Singer’s frequent absence from the sets, conflicts between Rami Malek and the director were also reported previously, one of which resulted in Singer throwing an object at Malek. According to a report by IndieWire, Singer’s absence had pushed Malek to complain to the studio. Tom Hollander had also briefly quit the film, however he was later convinced to return. Singer’s publicist, Simon Halls,   told The Washington Post that he no longer represents the director and gave no reason why. Fox terminated Singer’s association with Bohemian Rhapsody under the “pay or play” provision of his contract.  Singer is known for directing films like The Usual Suspects, X-Men: Apocalypse and Superman Returns. With only two week of filming left, a new director is expected to be announced within the next few days. The film, which had been filming in London, had seen cinematographer Thomas Newton Sigel step into the director’s chair on the days when Singer was absent.   Bohemian Rhapsody is slated for release on 25 December 2018 in the US.