Bryan Singer has launched a return. Less than a year after Singer was sued for allegedly raping a 17-year-old in 2003, the director has been hired to direct a new movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Singer will direct Red Sonja, based on Conan the Barbarian comic-book spinoff. THR says the movie will be fast-tracked at Millennium Films, and will be “a step toward rehabilitating the director’s image.â€
In December, Singer was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody, though he has kept his director credit. Singer’s firing came after arguments with star Rami Malek over the director’s extended absences and unprofessionalism. (Malek complained to the studio, and it reportedly led to a confrontation where Singer threw something at his star.) Singer said his absences were because he was busy caring for an ill parent. That same month, Singer was also accused of attacking a man on a yacht when he was a minor in 2003. (Singer has faced accusations of misconduct in the past, including that he forced minors to strip naked for a scene. In 2014, a man claimed Singer raped him when he was a teenager.) Singer has denied these allegations.
According to THR, an “insider†said Millennium hired Singer because “none of the allegations seem to have merit.†The studio hopes to turn Red Sonja into a franchise.