Director Josh Trank Departs STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY Spinoff Film

Josh Trank is no longer directing a Star Wars Anthology spinoff movie. Lucasfilm announced on Saturday morning that the Chronicle and Fantastic Four director had decided to leave the project.

"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," Trank said in a statement posted on StarWars.com. "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."

For anyone following the past few months of Trank's career, this movie doesn't come as a shock. The director's time at the helm of Fox's Fantastic Four reboot was allegedly rife with conflict. Variety reported on Saturday that "Trank and screenwriter Simon Kinberg weren't thrilled with the idea of working together again." Kinberg is playing a huge role in crafting the future of the Star Wars universe, and it sounds like he wanted someone else to direct the untitled Star Wars Anthology movie.

Trank's standalone movie was supposed to be a part of a Star Wars Celebration panel last week, but a supposed bout with the flu kept the director away.

Hey all. So, so, so sad to have missed today. Worst flu of my life. I hear it went beautifully with Gareth. Here's to next year. #SWCA

— Josh Trank (@joshuatrank) April 19, 2015

Lucasfilm still presented director Gareth Edwards' Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, the first spinoff that'll kick off the series on Dec. 16, 2016.

It's disappointing to see Trank bail on Star Wars. After going with JJ Abrams, a big-name director, for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm turned to directors who had established themselves with small-budget, innovative films for its film slate beyond The Force Awakens: Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) for Rogue One, Trank (Chronicle) for the second standalone, Rian Johnson (Looper) for Star Wars: Episode VIII. Hopefully the studio moves quickly to replace Trank and finds an awesome creative mind to take his place. Might I offer some suggestions?