Director fired from Queen biopic

LOS ANGELES — Bryan Singer has been fired from “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic, 20th Century Fox confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.

“Bryan Singer is no longer the director of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ” the studio said in a statement.

On Sunday, production on the film was suspended after the director failed to show up to set. At the time, the studio credited the halt in production to Singer’s “unexpected unavailability.”

A representative for Singer told BBC News that his absence was prompted by “a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the firing comes on the heels of mounting tension between Singer and the film’s star Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”) concerning Singer’s frequent absences that necessitated Sunday’s production shutdown.

The Hollywood Reporter also reports that Singer had been warned before production began by Fox Film chairman and CEO Stacey Snider and vice chairman and president of production Emma Watts that they wouldn’t tolerate any unprofessional behavior on his part. In a non-physical altercation with Malek, Singer reportedly threw an object. In his absence, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel stepped in to help direct for several days of shooting.

The film, about British rock band Queen and its frontman, Mercury, is still expected to be released in December 2018 as planned. The studio has not confirmed when a new director will be named.