Disgraced Director Bryan Singer Plotting Comeback, Doc on Sexual Allegations

Openly gay director Bryan Singer was riding high as an A-list filmmaker, his "X Men" movies having brought in billions and films like "The Usual Suspects" having attained iconic status. Then his career imploded – and allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

Now Singer is planning a career comeback, including a doc about is own troubles, according to Variety.

"Documentary sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the project has been floated in the non-fiction world," THR detailed, "with Variety reporting that the disgraced director is self-financing the endeavor."

Forbes recalled in an article of its own that after Singer was axed, in 2017, as director from the Freddie Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" and replaced with Dexter Fletcher, who guided the project to completion, allegations of sexual misconduct came to light in the form of a lawsuit filed by "Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, a man who accused the director of raping him while he was underage in 2003." Singer settled for a reported $150,000 in 2019.

That same year, as Singer tried to position himself for a comeback with a major film, the story gained fresh momentum with an article in the Atlantic "that detailed allegations that Singer sexually assaulted four men when they were underage," Variety recounted.

Even at that time, The Atlantic noted, Singer had "been trailed by accusations of sexual misconduct for 20 years," ever since making the film "Apt Pupil" in 1997, when "a series of lawsuits against Singer and the production" were lodged, with five underage actors alleging that "members of the crew had bullied them into stripping naked for [a] shower scene" set in a school locker room.

With his proposed documentary, "Singer plans to address the allegations of sexual misdeeds and cover his attempt at career resurrection," a source told Variety.

In addition, the director – who broke through to mainstream success with "The Usual Suspects" in 1995 – "is looking to return to his lower-budget auteur roots with three narrative features set in and around Israel, where he has been living in recent years," Variety added. The films are budgeted at a relatively paltry $10 million each.

No criminal charges have ever been filed against Singer, Variety pointed out. But if the "Superman Returns" auteur "is able to relaunch his career, he will be one of the few artists accused of sexual harassment or assault to have staged a comeback," Variety noted.