Creative differences have seen screen legend Robert De Niro leave filming on the Martin Campbell directed thriller The Edge of Darkness after just one week on set, according to Variety.

The movie based on Campbell’s own late 80’s British t.v. mini-series, is Mel Gibson’s first return to acting in six years, playing a homicide detective and father of a murdered young woman. De Niro had been set to play the operative sent to clean up the evidence in the tale involving government conspiracies and corporate cover-up.

Until they can re-cast the second lead role, the movie will awkwardly shoot around any of the scenes involving De Niro. Campbell has the unenvious task of re-casting a Two Time Academy Award Winner and Four Time Runner-Up.

Danny Huston, Shawn Roberts and Bojana Novakovic co-star.

As far as I know, De Niro has only ever walked out on a movie this close to it’s production (filming in this case) and that was way back in the mid 70’s when he left what would eventually become The Goodbye Girl (Richard Dreyfuss replaced him) so he could star in Taxi Driver.

That proved to be a very good choice but for such a huge actor, he has never troubled anyone by dropping out of projects since. One wonders what happened here.