Though it seemed to be proceeding smoothly, the Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody appears to have hit some choppy waters as it continues shooting. Or doesn’t, in this case, as director Bryan Singer has taken a leave of absence for unspecified personal reasons
The film, which charts the formation and rise of the supergroup and Mercury’s time in it, stars Rami Malek as the singer, and has members of the band as producers. According to Deadline, Singer had taken brief breaks from the film previously and didn’t show back up to work after the Thanksgiving holiday last week. “Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer,” ran the studio’s official statement, with Singer’s representatives following up after that with their own release: “This is a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family. Bryan hopes to get back to work on the film soon after the holidays.”
According to the site, studio executives have been quietly deciding whether to replace Singer and the crew was let go before the weekend, so right now the movie is in limbo. Whether it hits a planned December 2018 release is now in question.