In the build up to the release of Days of Future Past, a lawsuit was filed against director Bryan Singer alleging battery, assault, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit was filed by Michael Egan who claimed to have suffered sexual abuse at the age of 17 committed by Singer, along with several other Hollywood figures.
The case gained a lot of coverage, I'm sure we all remember, and Fox took the descision to remove Singer from the promotional tour, replacing him with writer Simon Kinberg. Whilst the film still managed to claim the #1 spot at the Box Office and raked in over $740,000,000 worldwide, the damage to Singer's reputation seemed to have been done.
It now emerges that the lawyers representing the claimant, Jeff Herman and Mark Gallagher, have filed a court motion saying they no longer want to be involved with their client - essentially asking to withdraw from the case saying their relationship with Mr Egan has "broken down completely and cannot be repaired".
Mr Egan had wanted to settle out of court which, Mr Singer's lawyer argued showed a
"lack of confidence in their chances for success" - which seems to have some merit now given that Mr Egan's legal team are distancing themselves from him. Egan had previously filed similar suits against other figures in Hollywood, all of which were unsuccessful.
Mr Singer maintains he was never in Hawaii (where the alleged abuse took place) at the time and has never had sexual contact with Mr Egan. The US District Court in Honolulu is due to hear a motion to dismiss the case from Bryan Singer on 9 September.
With the success of
Days of Future Past and the likelihood that the case will be dismissed, it seems all but certain that Singer will once again return to the X-Men franchise for
X-Men: Apocalypse which is set for release on May 27
th 2016.