The ongoing saga of the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand continues as director Scott Cooper has officially departed from the project. The Wrap has reported that the break up occurred (as most do) over creative differences between the studio and Cooper regarding how to properly adapt the source material.

“The Stand” is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author King. It tells the story of a full-scale apocalypse, driven by the accidental release of a biological weapon and the ensuing struggle of good versus evil carried out by the world’s final survivors.

The novel expands upon the scenario of his earlier short story, “Night Surf”. The novel was originally published in 1978 and was later re-released in 1990 as The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition; King restored some text originally cut for brevity, added and revised sections, changed the setting of the story from 1980 (which in turn was changed to 1985 for the original paperback release in 1980) to 1990, and updated a few pop culture references accordingly. The Stand was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1979. “The Stand” was previously adapted into a television miniseries in 1994 as well as a graphic novel.

A replacement for Cooper has not yet been announced.