“And another one gone, and another one gone,
Another one bites the dust.”
The ghost of Freddie Mercury does not want this project to happen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Bryan Singer has been fired from the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. This comes just days after the production of the feature was halted due to the unexpected availability of the director.
Apparently, there was an escalating conflict between the director and star Rami Malek that led to the director’s termination. Rami Malek is playing Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in the biopic. The production was taking place in London before the stoppage.
Singer was having frequent no-show days with production slowly resuming due to cinematographer Thomas Newton Sigel stepping in and running the production while Singer was missing. Malek wasn’t the only one upset at Singer’s behavior, as Tom Hollander, who plays one of Queen’s managers in the picture was ready to quit had Singer not been removed. Fox had warned Singer about missing time on set before and had a representative from the Directors Guild of America on hand to witness the unfolding drama on set.
After the Thanksgiving break, Singer did not return to the set of Bohemian Rhapsody, instead, he stayed in the US. An insider reported that Singer was suffering from PTSD due to the tensions on the set during his tenure. This isn’t exactly the first problem that the Queen biopic has faced.
We previously reported that it was quite the hassle finding the right actor to take on the role of Freddie Mercury. Not only did the actor need to be right, but they also had to agree to the vision that the remaining members of Queen had for the biopic. That was a tough ask for a lot of actors until Rami Malek stepped up to plate and took on the role.
It doesn’t look like Bohemian Rhapsody will miss the planned release date of December 2018 due to the change in the director. There are only two weeks left in the shoot and Fox is expected to name a replacement within the next few days that will see the film through to the finish line. Maybe this time will finally be the time that this project finds completion.