Jack Nicholson has dropped out of the US remake of German smash-hit comedy 'Toni Erdmann', where he was due to play the lead role opposite Kristen Wiig.

Nicholson has not starred in a movie since 2010's 'How Do You Know?', where he starred in an ensemble cast that included Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson and saw him reunite with 'As Good As It Gets' director James L. Brooks. Nicholson was seemingly on the fence for quite a while before he eventually signed on, however it would appear the changes behind the scenes of the remake may have caused him to drop out.

Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner were replaced as writers on the remake with Lisa Cholodenko, who previously wrote and directed 'The Kids Are All Right' with Mark Ruffalo, Annette Benning and Julianne Moore. Kristen Wiig, however, has remained on as the joyless daughter in the US remake, with casting set to take place shortly for Nicholson's replacement.

The original German movie was a critical smash hit and subsequently went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language, but lost out to Ashgar Farhadi's 'The Salesman'.

No release date has been set for the US remake of 'Toni Erdmann'.