It’s no secret that the comic book genre is absolutely dominating the entertainment industry. But prior to shared universes becoming commonplace, making a superhero movie was a major risk. Fox’s X-Men franchise started back in 2000, with the first few movies directed by filmmaker Bryan Singer, who has been involved in some controversies over the recent years. Mystique actress Rebecca Romijn recently explained her experience with Singer, and why she hasn’t spoken out about his behavior like other X-Men actors.
In the midst of the #MeToo movement, a number of stories and controversies have come out surrounding Bryan Singer’s behavior on his projects. That includes the X-Men franchise, with actors like Halle Berry admitting she clashed with him on set. Rebecca Romijn starred as Mystique in the original trilogy of movies, and recently spoke to Independent about her experience with the Bohemian Rhapsody filmmaker. In her words:
He’s a fantastic filmmaker, you know? It was amazing watching him work. And you have to decide if you want to try and separate those two things. I know that the other cast confronted him about things. But I was not a part of that. I wasn’t there for it, so I can’t really speak to it.
Well, there you have it. It looks like Romijn didn’t personally have issues with Singer, but she heard about him clashing with other members of the X-Men cast. That being said, his work as a director seemed to impress her as they collaborated in the early aughts.
Since the allegations about Bryn Singer came to light, the filmmaker has largely been out of the public eye, and hasn’t been working on major film projects. His last credit was on the Oscar-winning musical biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, although Singer was actually fired weeks before the movie wrapped principal photography.
Later in that same interview, Rebecca Romijn further spoke about her experience with Bryan Singer, and the drama that she witnessed and heard about while playing Mystique in the X-Men franchise. As she put it:
There was drama on set, and I witnessed it and I heard a lot about it. And he sometimes didn’t come in prepared. But he would show up and, without any preparation whatsoever, direct the most awesome scene that he was able to put together because he’s such a good filmmaker.
It looks like Romijn is able to separate the artist from the art, at least in the case of Singer. In the same interview, she revealed she actually had issues with X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner. Although she didn’t reveal the details of their feud.
Rebecca Romijn has been keeping busy with roles in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. We’ll just have to see if/when the X-Men join the MCU. In the meantime, be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
