Godzilla 2 Director Drops Out

The Godzilla sequel has lost its director.

Deadline reports today that Gareth Edwards has left the Legendary-produced film in a decision described as amicable.

Edwards directed the 2014 original Godzilla. His current project is Star Wars spinoff Rogue One, which comes to theaters this December.

The Deadline report goes on to shed some more light on Edwards' decision to split.

"Edwards has his own gestating projects he wanted to pursue, and they are smaller in scale than the back-to-back tentpole-size pictures he is directing with the Godzilla launch and then the Star Wars spinoff," the report said.

Earlier this week, Godzilla 2's release date was pushed back, from June 2018 to March 2019. Deadline reports that Edwards and Legendary reached an agreement about parting ways before this announcement.

The search is now underway for a replacement. Godzilla 2 will be followed up in 2020 with monster mashup Godzilla vs. Kong.

The first Godzilla premiered in May 2014, going to on to make more than $500 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.