New Report Indicates Bryan Singer Fired From 'Red Sonja' Movie
Last month, we got word that Red Sonja was on hold in the wake of even more sexual misconduct allegations against director Bryan Singer. Now, it looks like Singer is officially off the movie. The news of Singer's removal came unceremoniously, buried within a much larger story about a completely different topic. Now let us all cross our fingers and hope we never have to hear about Bryan Singer again.
THR has a lengthy piece this week about the scandal surrounding Warner Bros. head Kevin Tsujihara and actress Charlotte Kirk, which also happens to reveal that Bryan Singer has been fired from the Red Sonja movie:
"[Millennium Films' Avi Lerner] made news recently when he hired Bryan Singer to direct a reboot of Red Sonja. After Singer was accused in an Atlantic article of sexually assaulting underage boys, Lerner dismissed the story as "agenda-driven fake news," then walked the statement back. Eventually, he dropped Singer from the project because he was unable to secure a domestic distributor."
In 2018, it was revealed Millennium was willing to shell out $10 million to hire Singer to direct the comic book adaptation – a business decision that immediately raised eyebrows and caused backlash. Singer has long faced allegations of sexual misconduct throughout his career. In addition to that, he also has a reputation of being unreliable – leaving sets for days and throwing productions into chaos. He was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody for this very reason, and Dexter Fletcher was brought in to complete the movie (Singer maintained final credit, though).
On January 23, 24 hours after Bohemian Rhapsody picked up five Academy Award nominations, The Atlantic ran a piece in which some of Singer's alleged victims told their stories. The piece only renewed outcry against Singer. In the wake of the initial pushback about hiring Singer for Red Sonja, Lerner first issued a defense:
"The over $800 million Bohemian Rhapsody has grossed, making it the highest grossing drama in film history, is testament to his remarkable vision and acumen. I know the difference between agenda driven fake news and reality, and I am very comfortable with this decision. In America people are innocent until proven otherwise."
After receiving some heat for that tone-deaf statement, Lerner backtracked a bit, saying his statement "came out the wrong way" and that "victims should be heard and this allegation should be taken very, very seriously."
By February of this year, Red Sonja was announced as being on hold. Now, a month later, it looks as if Singer got the boot. Is this officially the beginning of the end of Singer's career, or will he bounce back, as always seems the case?