Director of 47 Ronin 'removed' after budget hits $225m

The director of forthcoming 3D martial arts fantasy '47 Ronin' has reportedly been removed from the editing suite of his own film.

The previously unknown Carl Rinsch was plucked from obscurity to direct the big-budget project, which stars Keanu Reeves, but has now been sidelined.

[Related story: Disney loses $50 million after scrapping film]

Co-chairwoman of Universal Pictures Donna Langley has been drafted in to edit the film, after its costs are thought to have rocketed to $225 million (£139 million) from the budgeted $175 million (£108 mllion) following re-shoots.

It's thought that Universal will have to make half a billion dollars at the box office just to break even.

Film site The Wrap cites individuals on the production describing the process as 'a nightmare'.

It also claims that while pre-production of the project started well, the inexperienced feature director, who has mostly adverts on his CV, later 'buckled under the pressure of the ambitious shoot'.

Control of the film has now been passed back to the studio.

The film centres around a band of 18th century samurai warriors in a fantasy world of witches and giants who set out to avenge the death of their master.

Other than Reeves, the cast is made up almost entirely of Japanese stars. It was originally set for release in November this year, but has been put back to December 25, 2013.