Trank, 30, the director of 2012's sci-fi movie "Chronicle" and the upcoming "Fantastic Four" movie, was selected to direct the second "Star Wars Anthology" due out in 2018. The three anthology films will intersect a new trilogy in the franchise, kicking off with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in December.
"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," Trank said in a statement on StarWars.com.