Chances are, if you didn’t head on over to IMDb or Wikipedia to confirm, you wouldn’t know that the same man directed both Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman…sort of.
Towards the end of production on the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bryan Singer was fired from the project by Twentieth Century Fox. It’s not entirely clear what led to the firing, though most outlets reported on how Singer regularly failed to show up for filming, which culminated with him taking an unapproved leave of absence around Thanksgiving of 2017. There were also reports that Bryan was a pain to work alongside, and it’s well known he got into altercations and arguments with actor Rami Malek, who won multiple awards (including an Emmy, Oscar, and Golden Globe) for his role as Queen’s frontman.
Shortly after Singer was fired, he was replaced by none other than Dexter Fletcher, who finished the remaining third of the film. He later went on to direct Rocketman, which received generally favorable reviews from critics, even if it didn’t smash box office records. The Elton John biopic has grossed a little more than $100 million worldwide, and a recent report indicates that Fletcher originally considered including a Bohemian Rhapsody crossover.
As noted by CinemaBlend, Dexter threw around the idea of having Freddie appear at a restaurant that Elton was dining at, with the two eventually acknowledging each other’s presence by waving. However, it seems he backtracked on this.
“There was an idea I had one point, where Elton’s in a restaurant with his mother. I thought John Reid and Freddie could be at another table and they wave at each other!”
Interestingly enough, Elton John and Freddie Mercury knew each other in real life. Not only were they good friends, but they also performed together on stage. A few weeks after Mercury passed away, Elton received a package that contained a painting which Freddie had willed to him – the late singer knew how much his friend enjoyed the work of art, and he wanted him to have it. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t look like any such endearing moments were ever filmed during Rocketman‘s production.
