“Crazy Heart” director Scott Cooper has fallen off of “The Stand,” Warner Bros.’ planned film adaptation of the Stephen King novel, according to two individuals familiar with the project.

The studio tapped Cooper to re-write and direct the project a few months ago, and the split was due to “creative differences,” according to one of those individuals.

No replacement has been hired, though the project has been a priority for Warner Bros.

Cooper signed on to make the post-apocalyptic horror film after Ben Affleck backed off. Affleck will instead direct and star in “Live By the Night,” another prized adaptation at the studio.

CBS Films is co-producing and co-presenting the film, which has a first draft by David Kajganich. Roy Lee is producing with Jimmy Miller.

Cooper has been developing a bevy of other projects, and his latest film, the revenge drama “Out of the Furnace,” opens in theaters Dec. 6. He is represented by CAA and attorney Darren Trattner.

With Scott Cooper the latest director to fall off the adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand, Warner Bros is back at square one with the project. When Cooper left it became clear that even simple things - like how many movies this would be, and what the rating would be - hadn't been decided. But the studio continues on and the next filmmaker they're hoping to snare is Paul Greengrass.

He's at the top of their wishlist, sources tell me, and he's a weird and intriguing choice. On the one hand, he could do incredible stuff with the collapse of society as the superflu Captain Trips rips through humanity. On the other hand there's all this magic and psychic stuff, and the intervention of God, which feels outside of his wheelhouse. At the same time that makes it exciting - what would Paul Greengrass do with a supernatural character like The Walking Dude?

Take this as only a snapshot of what Warner Bros is thinking behind the scenes right now. I don't even know if there's been much of a formal overture to the filmmaker, just that he's the guy who's at the top of their wish list. They're not letting The Stand die, and they're committing to doing it with a quality filmmaker at the helm... for now. How many directors have to fall off before they end up going to some middle-of-the-road schmuck who will just get the thing done on time and on budget?

So I’m a big Stephen King fan, and I know you’re a gigantic Stephen King fan, so I have to ask about The Stand. You’re directing it. What can you tell me about it?
We’re gonna do one three-hour, R-rated version with an amazing A-list cast across the board. Every single one of those characters will be somebody you recognize and somebody you relate to. And it’s gonna be awesome. I’m really excited. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever got to do in my entire life. If 12-year-old me had ever known that one day I’d be doing this, to even just go back and look at that kid, I’d be like, Keep doing what you’re doing! It’s just crazy. I’ve met so many actors over the years, and like, when I met Stephen King, I hugged him with tears in my eyes. He meant that much to me when I was young. I still say everything I learned about writing I learned from Stephen King. I don’t read screenplays. I don’t read screenplay how-to books. It’s always just, establish the character. Establish the character.