Los Angeles: Director Josh Trank is no longer attached to helm the upcoming spin-off of popular action franchise "Star Wars".
Trank called his decision to exit the "Star Wars" universe "personal" and thanked the team of Lucasfilm and Disney for their support.
The 31-year-old "Chronicle" director further said he wanted to explore "original, creative opportunities".
"After a year of having the incredible honour 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," Trank said in a statement.
"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," he said.
Sources close to the development, however, said Trank was often indecisive and uncommunicative.
His unusual conduct during the making of Fox's upcoming "Fantastic Four" movie had apparently raised alarm among Lucasfilm executives that were entrusting him with the second Star Wars standalone film.
