The "Star Wars" universe faces on of its first big hurdles since Disney and Lucasfilm rebooted the storied franchise.
Josh Trank has decided not to direct the second standalone film in the "Star Wars" anthology that will start with "Rogue One." The director released an official statement on Friday saying that he made a "personal decision" to move on and get back to more original work.
"After a year of having the incredible honor of developing with the wonderful and talented people at Lucasfilm, I'm making a personal decision to move forward on a different path. I've put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and I know deep down in my heart that I want to pursue some original creative opportunities. That said, the Star Wars universe has always been one of my biggest influences, and I couldn't be more excited to witness its future alongside my millions of fellow Star Wars fans. I want to thank my friends Kathleen Kennedy, Kiri Hart, Simon Kinberg, and everyone at Lucasfilm and Disney for the amazing opportunity to have been a part of this. May the Force be with you all."
Lucasfilm also released a short statement about the departure of Trank, whose hiring was announced nearly a year ago.
"It was a privilege to collaborate with Josh. We are grateful for the energy and love of 'Star Wars' that he brought to the process, and we wish him all the best," Lucasfilm VP of Development Kiri Hart said.
Trank most recently directed the rebooted "Fantastic Four" movie from 20th Century Fox. Some executives at Lucasfilm had grown concerned about the young director helming the "Star Wars" film based on his "erratic" behavior on the Marvel movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Simon Kinberg served as a producer on "Fantastic Four" and will perform the same role on the "Star Wars" spin-off; he reportedly was getting "cold feet" about working with Trank again.
The "Chronicle" director also missed the much-talked-about "Star Wars" Celebration presented by Disney in April. He tweeted that he was suffering the "worst flu of my life," but Disney reportedly asked him to not come, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lucasfilm is continuing to develop the second standalone film and is searching for a new director. The film does not have a release date.
