The road to making Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is proving to be a pretty difficult one to walk. Just taking a glimpse at our coverage of the film so far, and it’s easy to tell that it’s been having some trouble for a while now, both in finding its leading lady and its director.

Numerous actresses, including Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Blake Lively, and Scarlett Johansson have been circling the lead role, but all have ultimately passed on the project, and the same thing has been happening with its directors.

David O. Russell was initially going to be the one behind the camera, and then the job went to Mike White and Russell exited, and after White’s exit, Craig Gillespie came on board back in April this year.

But no more. Deadline are reporting that Gillespie himself has decided that it’s not going to be the film for him. His exit was on good terms with the studio, and was related to things like the casting of the film. Nonetheless, it looks like Lionsgate are pretty much back to square one with this – if not minus a few steps, given how much trouble it’s been having – and fans of Seth Grahame-Smith’s original novel, based of course on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, will likely still have some time to wait before the adaptation arrives on the big screen. You can look forward to seeing his other adaptation, however, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, next summer.

With the director’s chair now empty for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, though, the search is back on for both the leading lady and the director. More news as and when we get it.