From Deadline

Cary Fukunaga has left his gig directing New Line’s upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s It. New Line and the True Detective director are going their separate ways owing to conflicts over budget, derived at least in part from creative differences, sources say.

This puts the production in an awkward place; shooting was scheduled to start in mid-June. To keep on track, the studio is going to have to find a new helmer soon. However, reports have it that the studio is holding firm on a $30 million budget, but submitted script drafts would have required much more finding and that even at this late date, a final draft has not been approved. There has been no word from New Line on either Fukunaga’s replacement, or how this shake-up might affect the production.

The film is based on Stephen King’s sprawling 1986 novel about a group of preteens terrorized by a malevolent entity that prays on children, called (of course) “It”. The group narrowly defeats the monster, but find themselves facing it again as adults. The monster appears mainly in the form of a clown calling itself Pennywise. The book was previously adapted for a 1990 tv miniseries on ABC; Tim Curry starred as the titular monster.