Bryan Singer gets Bohemian Rhapsody director credit despite controversy

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? After being caught in a landslide of controversy and being fired from directing the Queen biopic BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, there's no escape from the reality that Bryan Singer will be credited as the film's director, after all.

As you may recall, Singer was ousted from the production of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY in December after the studio claimed that the X-MEN: APOCALYPSE director indulged in a series of unexplained absences from the set. After being canned, Singer claimed that the studio's complaints were unwarranted, and that in actuality the brass had kept him from seeing to "a gravely ill parent," in addition to addressing his own declining health. “I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen," Singer said in a statement at the time, "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."

Now, after participating in an interview for the upcoming issue of Empire Magazine, producer Graham King said, “Bryan Singer is the credited director of the film…. Basically, Bryan had some personal issues going on. He wanted to hiatus the movie to deal with them, and the movie had to get finished. That was what it came down to…. It wasn’t about reinventing the wheel. We needed someone who would have some creative freedom, but work inside a box.”

In the face of Singer's firing, EDDIE THE EAGLE director Dexter Fletcher was hired to finish the film. He worked the camera for 16 days following Singer's departure and was instrumental in getting the movie ready for its targeted release date.

While some might feel as if Fletcher deserves to have his name in bright lights as the director of the biopic, DGA rules strictly state that only one director or established team can receive credit on a film. Be that as it may, a director accreditation kerfuffle is expected to do little when swaying Queen fans from flocking to theaters to enjoy a musical adventure based on the life and times of one of the greatest bands in rock 'n; roll history. Wax up your mustache, Freddie fans, and be sure to press your finest (and tightest) pair of white hip-huggin' jeans for when BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY roars into theaters on November 2nd.