Bryan Singer Will Get Directing Credit on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Bryan Singer has received the directing credit for Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” despite being replaced by Dexter Fletcher during the latter stages of the shoot.

Fletcher came on board to direct in December after Fox fired Singer from the project after repeated absences from the set had forced the studio to halt production .

Fox is opening the movie on Nov. 2. The studio confirmed a report about the directing credit Tuesday in Empire Magazine.

“ is the credited director of the film,” producer Graham King said. “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.”

King also said in the interview that Fletcher shot footage for about 16 days. King and star Rami Malek appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 26 to tout “.”

Fletcher said in an interview last month that he did not want the directing credit. The Directors Guild of America requires in its contracts that each film may have only one director or directing entity, if the two directors are established team.

Singer’s directing credits include “The Usual Suspects,” “Superman Returns,” “X-Men,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”

New Regency and GK Films are the production companies. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and “We Are the Champions.”

Ben Hardy is playing drummer Roger Taylor in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Gwilym Lee (“The Hollow Crown”) is portraying lead guitarist Brian May and Joe Mazzello is in the role of bass guitarist John Deacon. Lucy Boynton is playing Mary Austin, lifelong companion of Mercury. Mercury formed Queen with May and Taylor in 1970 and died of complications from HIV/AIDS in 1991 at the age of 45.