Planet of the Apes sequel loses director?

The sequel to the box office - and critical - smash 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' may have lost its director, according to reports.

'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' was set to be directed by Rupert Wyatt, who made the first film, but movie industry site Deadline is reporting that he's stepped off the project.

[Related story: The man behind the monkey - Incredible deleted scenes from Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes]

It's thought that he was concerned about meeting the release date of the sequel, which is already set for May 23, 2014.

So far the film's studio Fox has not commented on the rumours.

The first film hauled in £482 million (£296 million) at the box office, while many believed that Andy Serkis, who played intelligent ape Caesar, should have received an Oscar nomination for his motion-capture role.

If Wyatt has left the project, it's another recent example of studio pressure to follow up box office hits quickly.

It follows the recent departure of director Gary Ross from the 'Hunger Games' sequel 'Catching Fire', who's said to have quit over the time constraints involved in making the next film in the series.