Josh Trank (Fantastic Four) is no longer directing the upcoming Star Wars anthology film for Disney. Trank was slated to direct the second standalone anthology film, after Gareth Edwards' Star Wars: Rogue One. The project was announced less than a year ago, last June.
Fans speculated that there might be issues with Trank's standalone film when the director was a no-show for his scheduled Star Wars Celebration appearance last month, but on twitter, Trank cited the "worst flu" of his life as the reason for his absence. In his official statement on the Star Wars website, Trank says that after a "tremendous amount of thought" he made a personal decision to "pursue some original creative opportunities." Trank's full statement is below.
“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 commented:
“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.”
The statement also states that "The Star Wars team is continuing to develop the project."
I won't speculate about what went wrong on the project when there's so little known. However, Chronicle was a fantastic spin on the superhero genre so I was excited to see his version of a Star Wars film would have looked like. I'm intruiged to see who they take on in his stead and what that might reveal about the tone they're aiming for.
It's interesting that Trank notes he will be pursuing original projects. His Fantastic Four film arrives in theaters August 7th, and though the sequel is already slated for June 9th, 2017, this statement seemingly puts to rest the idea that Trank might return as director.
What do you guys think? Are you sad to see Trank go? Who would you like to see at the helm of the second anthology film? Sound off in the comments.
