We’re sad to report that Frank Darabont has left the director’s chair of Law Abiding Citizen, the upcoming vigilante thriller which will star Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx.
With the film close to the beginning of shooting, Darabont’s departure is a surprise. His reasons are currently unknown, although AICN is reporting that ‘it apparently ended ugly’.
It’s a shame for Darabont – not only would Law Abiding Citizen have been his second film in two years, thereby threatening to make him prolific, but it was also a commercial thriller with bankable stars that may well have given him his first hit since 1999’s The Green Mile.
There’s no word yet on a replacement director, or on whether this will affect the filming schedule. We’d also wonder about whether or not this might affect the status of Foxx on the project, given that he hasn’t officially signed on.
The movie, by the way, will pit Foxx's grief-stricken husband and father against Butler's Assistant DA, who agrees to a plea bargain that frees one of the men who killed Foxx's wife and child. The script was written by Kurt Wimmer.