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Gus Van Sant Taking Over Matt Damon’s Directorial Debut

Actor steps down as helmer of drama, still co-starring with John Krasinski.

Matt Damon has pulled out as director of the untitled film that would've marked his debut behind the camera. Milk director Gus Van Sant has taken over the drama, which will still feature Damon, along with John Krasinski.

Damon and Office star Krasinski wrote the original script, along with Dave Eggers, about a salesman (Damon) who arrives in a small town only to have his life changed.

The Hollywood Reporter reveal the actor quit as helmer due to "scheduling issues", calling his friend Van Sant to step in. The pair worked together on Good Will Hunting, the film that earned Damon and his buddy Ben Affleck an Oscar for best screenplay back in 1997.

Damon will next be seen in Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo, with Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi Elysium on the way. He's set to star in Steven Soderbergh's biopic Liberace, alongside Michael Douglas. Van Sant's last film was ghostly love story Restless, released last year.