Robert Ripley searched for many strange things over the course of his career. Now it appears he’s in search of a new director as Tim Burton has reportedly left the upcoming film, Ripley’s Believe it Or Not!.

The movie stars Jim Carrey as Ripley himself, the eccentric world traveler who was always in search of the strange and mysterious. The story is supposed to center around Ripley’s travel to find a mysterious, lost tribe. This sort of thing seems right up Burton’s alley. In fact, the Big Fish director seems more appropriate for the project than Carrey. So why the departure?

Much like Ripley’s mysteries, nobody quite knows. Coming Soon reported the departure earlier today, coming through an unnamed source. Other than stating that Paramount Pictures may be searching for a new director, not much else is stated. That verbage makes me wonder if Coming Soon themselves is a bit skeptical about this information.

This isn’t the first obstacle Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! has hit, but hopefully it won’t be the last. The picture was slated to start production this coming winter, although the lack of a director might cause some interference with those plans.