After shutting down the production of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' last week due to the "unexpected unavailability" of director Bryan Singer, Fox have made the move to remove Singer from the project.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter last night, the studio said: "Bryan Singer is no longer the director of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'."

According to THR, the trouble on-set began when "Singer went missing during production on several occasions", and cinematographer Thomas Newton Sigel was left to step in.

Another source on the film said that Tom Hollander, who plays Queen manager Jim Beach, briefly quit the film because of Singer's behavior before being persuaded to return, and that Rami Malek, who plays Freddie Mercury, complained to the studio, "charging Singer with not being present on set, unreliability and unprofessionalism".

Tensions are said to have led to a confrontation between Singer and Malek, which involved Singer throwing an object. The director was then expected to return from the production's Thanksgiving break but when he failed to show, Fox decided to terminate him.

Singer has since responded claiming that the studio were "unwilling" to compromise with the "pressing health matters" of one of his parents which "took a serious toll" on his own health.

You can read his statement in full below.

"Bohemian Rhapsody is a passion project of mine. With fewer than three weeks to shoot remaining, I asked Fox for some time off so I could return to the U.S. to deal with pressing health matters concerning one of my parents. This was a very taxing experience, which ultimately took a serious toll on my own health. Unfortunately, the studio was unwilling to accommodate me and terminated my services. This was not my decision and it was beyond my control. Rumors that my unexpected departure from the film was sparked by a dispute I had with Rami Malek are not true. While, at times, we did have creative differences on set, Rami and I successfully put those differences behind us and continued to work on the film together until just prior to Thanksgiving. I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, but Fox would not permit me to do so because I needed to temporarily put my health, and the health of my loved ones, first."

'Bohemian Rhapsody' is still set for release on December 28th, 2018. A new director is yet to be announced.