It’s official: Chronicle and Fantastic Four director Josh Trank has stepped down as director of the 2018 Star Wars Anthology film. Many theorized that this was the case after Trank failed to appear at his Star Wars Celebration panel, citing the “worst flu of his life.”
In a statement, Trank said:
“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 VP of Development Kiri Hart also said, “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.”
While it is unfortunate to hear that Trank is leaving the project, hopefully it is for the best for both parties involved. Rumors of discord and bad blood behind-the-scenes on Fantastic Four had me a little bit worried about what might happen with the Star Wars Anthology film. Now it seems we have our answer, and the inevitable lists of which director should replace Trank on the project can commence.
The project will continue development under the direction of the Star Wars development group, and is set to be released in 2018. Trank’s next film, Fantastic Four, will hit theaters on August 7. The first standalone movie in the Anthology series, Star Wars: Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards and is set to hit theaters late next year.
Who do you think should replace Trank on the project? Let us know in the comments below.
Dan Casey is the senior editor for Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
[HT: StarWars.com]
IMAGE: Star Wars.com
