First, there was some question as to whether he’d be back. Then there was word that he was still taking meetings. Now, it’s double super official: Gary Ross won’t be directing Hunger Games follow-up Catching Fire. According to Deadline Russell, the direct issued a statement claiming that the truncated preparation and shooting schedule was not acceptable.

So now, Lionsgate is back to square one and facing down a movie that has to be wrapped by January in order to set Jennifer Lawrence free to turn back into a member of the X-Men.

The question now: who should replace Ross? A deeper question: should it necessarily be a female director?