The best way to get beyond the bad news of having to fire your director from a major film, is to simply replace him and move on. And that’s what 20th Century Fox has done by hiring Eddie the Eagle‘s Dexter Fletcher to replace Bryan Singer on Bohemian Rhapsody, just a couple of days after the latter was canned.
This all started last week when we learned production on Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic that stars Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, had been halted due to Singer’s absence following Thanksgiving break. It was a couple of days later that Fox, following what had been a pattern of unexplained absences by Singer, decided to part ways with him. Reports surfaced that Malek had argued with him over the unprofessional conduct, which included being gone so often that the cinematographer had to fill-in as director. Singer has refuted these reports, saying he needed the time away to tend to a family illness.
Whatever the case, Singer’s out and Fletcher is in. I joked that they would call Ron Howard but Fletcher isn’t much different. He’s not a filmmaker who has a signature style that would clash with Singer’s, but he’s a professional and will be there on set when he’s supposed to be. That has to count for something. Interestingly, this is sort of a reunion for Fletcher who was the original director attached to the project back when Ben Whishaw was briefly on board. The whole thing fell apart over creative differences stemming from the film’s tone. The band wanted it to be lighter and PG-13 rated, and I guess after helming the family-friendly Eddie the Eagle Fletcher feels he can give them that.
Shooting will resume next week. [Variety]
