The Force giveth, and the Force taketh away.

Though he was attached to Disney and Lucasfilm's still mysterious (yet possibly bounty hunter-related) Star Wars spinoff as far back as May, screenwriter Gary Whitta has left the project apparently due to other commitments. This report comes from The Hollywood Reporter who also note that Godzilla director Garet Edwards remains attached to the movie.

"Gary has been a wonderful, inspired contributor and I enjoyed working with him tremendously," Edwards said in a statement. "I’m so grateful for all of his contributions."

Whitta added: "The year I spent working with Lucasfilm on this Star Wars film has been by far the most rewarding period of my entire career. As a lifelong Star Wars fan I’m deeply grateful to have had the rare opportunity to contribute to a new chapter in its ongoing cinematic legacy. The film is going to be amazing."

The trade notes that writer Michael Arndt also left the Lucas fold after doing early work on JJ Abrams' incoming The Force Awakens, so it appears the division is retaining its "director first" focus.

Whitta isn't quite out of the space game yet. He remains attached to an adaptation of Mark Millar's Starlight comic book.