Movies

Controversial X-Men Director Planning a Hollywood Return After 8 Years

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According to a report from Variety, Singer is returning with a new film that was shot in secrecy in Greece back in 2023. The movie, a father-son drama, stars Oscar-winner Jon Voight, an actor known for iconic roles in films like Mission: Impossible and Coming Home. The untitled project is set during Israel’s invasion and subsequent occupation of Lebanon in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Israeli filmmaker Yariv Horovitz, director of Rock the Kasbah, is also involved with the production, although his role remains undisclosed.

While Singer’s mystery movie is being described by one source as a “really well-made film with awards-season potential,” it is also poised to ignite further controversy, with the same source’s assessment calling its subject matter “polarizing.โ€ A distribution deal for the U.S. market is reportedly close to being finalized, though no release window has been announced.

Why Bryan Singer Hasn’t Made A Movie Since 2017

X2: X-Men United
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Bryan Singer’s departure from the Hollywood mainstream came in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct – for which he has never been charged, and always vehemently denied – and highly-publicized questions of professional issues on his final released film. His career began to publicly unravel in late 2017 when 20th Century Fox fired him from Bohemian Rhapsody with only a few weeks of filming left. The studio cited his “unexpected unavailability” after he failed to return to set following the Thanksgiving holiday. An explosive THR report from the time detailed a chaotic environment on set, including clashes between Singer and his cast, with one altercation allegedly involving Singer throwing an object. Though Dexter Fletcher was brought in to complete the film, the Directors Guild of America rules meant that Singer retained the sole directing credit on the Oscar-winning blockbuster.

The firing from Bohemian Rhapsody brought renewed attention to several misconduct allegations filed against Singer between 1997 and 2017. A detailed 2019 exposรฉ in The Atlantic featured several new accusers, which led to Singer being dropped from a planned Red Sonja film and taking a step back from the industry and the public eye, eventually relocating and living in Israel for the past several years.