Production On the Queen Biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, Has Halted

The long-delayed Queen biopic, aptly titled Bohemian Rhapsody, has been halted by Fox due to a health matter with director-producer Bryan Singer, Variety reports.

“Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer,” it said in a statement, adding that Singer didn’t return to the set after his Thanksgiving holiday on account of a “personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family.” The statement does not elaborate further.

This is the latest in a long string of setbacks for the film, which will star Rami Malek as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the event that it’s ever completed. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that producers and Malek have grown tired of Singer’s constant tardiness to set, and that in on instance a cinematographer even had to step in and direct in his absence. He apparently behaved similarly during the shooting of 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse and 2006’s Superman Returns.

Singer took over production in late 2016, and it’s unclear at this point whether it will be still be released on December 25, 2018 as predicted.