More than five years after getting fired as director of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Bryan Singer is reportedly preparing a comeback that includes a self-financed documentary about the sexual assault accusations against him.
Variety reports Singer has been pitching a slate of films, including a documentary about “his struggles,” which will address the allegations as well as Singer’s efforts to resurrect his directing career. (“Well, at least we know it will be fair and balanced,” a documentary veteran joked to Variety.)
Other films Singer is pitching include three narrative films set in and around Israel — his home base of late — including one set in the 1970s, Variety reports.
Singer, who made his mark in Hollywood helming 1995′s “The Usual Suspects” and four movies in the “X-Men” franchise, has not had a directing credit since his time on “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a 2018 biopic about Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
Fox executives fired Singer from that production and replaced him with Dexter Fletcher after tiring of Singer’s erratic behavior and absences from set, according to Variety.
Then, in 2019, The Atlantic reported accusations from four men who said Singer had sexually assaulted them while they were underage — claims that Singer has denied.
Following that story, the studio behind Singer’s proposed $80-million remake of the 1980s film “Red Sonja” couldn’t find a domestic distributor for that project.
Singer has never faced criminal charges, Variety adds, but he did reach settlements in multiple civil suits, including a lawsuit from teenage boys who said they were ordered to strip for a scene in Singer’s film “Apt Pupil.”
A-list actors who have worked with Singer have spoken out about his conduct on set.
“I’ve worked with Brian Singer,” Jennifer Lawrence said in a roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter last year. “I’ve seen emotional men. I’ve seen the biggest hissy fits I’ve ever seen thrown on set.”
And in a conversation with The Guardian earlier this year about his work with Singer on 2000′s “X-Men,” Hugh Jackman said, “I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now. And I think that things have changed for the better.”