The only article we have in ScreenCrush’s archive about director Dexter Fletcher is called “Freddie Mercury Biopic Loses Director, May Be Cursed.” That’s from 2014, when Fletcher dropped out of the project because of “creative differences.” We could have run the same headline earlier this week, when Bryan Singer was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody because of unexplained absences from set. (Singer later stated that he was taking care of a “pressing health matters” involving one of his parents.) And given all the fits and starts on this Mercury biopic, the whole thing still does feel kind of cursed.

But here’s an interesting twist: The man hired to replace Singer (no relation!) and finish production is none other than ... Dexter Fletcher. TheWrap relays the news, and runs down Fletcher’s resume:

A London native, Fletcher began his career as a child actor in The Long Good Friday, The Elephant Man and The Bounty, along with hit TV series Press Gang. He went on to appear in a number of cult British films such as The Rachel Papers, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Layer Cake.

When Fletcher was first hired to make Bohemian Rhapsody back in the early 2010s, his Freddie Mercury was going to be Ben Whishaw. (This was after Sacha Baron Cohen’s version of the film had already fallen through.) Now he will come in to finish Singer’s concept, which stars Rami Malek as Mercury (and who looks amazing in photos from the set). But to get hired to make a movie, to leave over creative differences, and then, three years later, to come back to the same project mid-shooting ... time really is a flat circle, man. Bohemian Rhapsody is scheduled to open in theaters next December.

Gallery - 25 Hilarious Foreign Titles for Classic Films:

More From US 103.1 FM