'World War Z 2' has lost its director after Juan Antonio Bayona walked away from the project.
Juan Antonio Bayona
The zombie apocalypse movie - which will see Brad Pitt reprise his role as United Nations investigator Gerry Lane who discovered the source of the virus that turned half of humanity into the walking dead - has experienced extensive production problems and now the filmmaker has quit production.
Deadline reports the cause of the 40-year-old director's detachment from the project is the timing of the shoot, despite the fact he signed on to the movie in December 2013.
Rumour has it the Spanish filmmaker is wanted by Universal Pictures for 'Jurassic World 2' - the follow up the 2015 blockbuster which starred Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Despite the claims, Bayona is said to be tied up with the post-production and publicity run for his latest film 'A Monster Calls', which stars Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson.
A statement from studio Paramount read: "Bayona is no longer able to make 'World War Z 2' this year and it is our ambition to do so. He is a wonderful director and we hope to work with him soon."
A plot for the next installment in the zombie franchise - which is an adaptation of the book 'World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War' by Max Brooks - is yet to be revealed.
The film is due out in the US on June 9, 2017.