As Deadline points out, this is the second time Spielberg has dropped a project after Lincoln:

He was looking to move fast on Robopocalypse, the Daniel H Wilson science fiction novel that was adapted by Drew Goddard. Spielberg still intends to direct that film, but he wanted to re-develop it. It is probably not his next film and will instead come further down the line.

Several weeks ago, and several weeks after it was actual news, I posted a grumpy whine-rant about the fact that Dreamworks and Spielberg were in talks to acquire the rights to The Grapes of Wrath for a remake (just in time for the 75th anniversary of the book), but that he wouldn’t be directing it because he was committed to American Sniper. Who wants to bet $10 that his next movie will be The Grapes of Wrath? We can shake internet tubes on it.

Grant Brissey covered everything from hard news and technology, to music, film, and visual arts during his time working for The Stranger. Grant's work has also appeared at Geekwire, and in Billboard,...