Josh Trank will no longer direct Star Wars Anthology film

Josh Trank stepped down from the standalone Star Wars film he was slated to direct. The director of the sci-fi movie Chronicle and the upcoming Fantastic Four, was selected to direct the second Star Wars Anthology film which is due in 2018. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 31-year-old director “made a personal decision” to leave.

“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 have 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. 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,” Trank said, in the statement.

Source: starwars7news.com

Earlier, Trank had said that he did not appear for Disney’s Star Wars Celebration two weeks ago because he was ill. “Hey all. So, so, so sad to have missed today. Worst flu of my life,” he had tweeted. No replacement for Trank has been named yet. Star Wars, created by filmmaker George Lucas, grossed more than $4.4 billion at the worldwide box office since 1977 with six films.