Before Mike White placed himself in the Longbourn wilderness to direct a big screen adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a few other names were floating around the internet-o-sphere as potential directors for the film.

Those names may come around again as Deadline are reporting that White has left the project to stumble on without direction.

David O. Russell was slated at one point but left the production before White stepped up, the other names considered were David Slade, Mike Newell and Neil Marshall, and it would be interesting to see if they crop up again as Lionsgate search for a new director.

Once a director is in place casting details will follow and so far only Natalie Portman was linked (then left) the film leaving the iconic literary figures up for grabs. It may just be because of the buzz surrounding Hobo with a Shotgun but I’d love to see Rutger Hauer as Mr Bennett and I can’t deny that I’d love to see Judi Dench reprise her role as Lady Catherine De Bourgh, only with samurai swords.

Grahame-Smith’s alternate literary world has another movie on the way as casting begins for his recent Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.