Mark Wahlberg has taken over Ryan Gosling's role in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.
US entertainment media say Gosling ditched the film a day before shooting was to begin in Pennsylvania over "creative differences".
That's despite him putting on weight and growing a beard in preparation.
Wahlberg will now play Gosling's part as the father of murdered girl Susie Salmon.
Alice Sebold's novel tells the story of Susie Salmon, a young girl who is murdered, but continues to observe her family and her killer after her death.
Gosling was to play Susie's father, with Academy Award winning actress Rachel Weisz as her mother.
Another Oscar nominee, Susan Sarandon, will play the part of Grandma Lyn, who goes to live with the Salmon family after the murder.
Stanley Tucci - most recently on New Zealand screens in TV2 drama ER - plays Susie's killer.
Published in 2002, The Lovely Bones has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, remaining on the New York Times hardback bestseller list for over a year.
It earned Sebold a Book of the Year Award for adult fiction from the American Booksellers Association.
Peter Jackson co-wrote the screenplay with his Lord of the Rings collaborators, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh.
Filming is set to hit Wellington next year.
