In light of this week’s scheduling announcement for the two Divergent sequels, the studio has explained why Neil Burger will not return to direct the second episode.

Burger is currently directing Divergent, the first in the Young Adult franchise-elect that is scheduled to open through Lionsgate on March 21 2014, but will not reprise his role due to the tight production schedule.

In a statement the studio said: “Neil Burger is a rock star and he is doing a fantastic job on Divergent. We can’t wait for you to see the film.

“But as amazing as Neil is he still cannot be in two places at once and thus needs to finish post production on Divergent while we gear up to start production on Insurgent.

“So, although Neil will continue on as part of our Divergent family as an executive producer, we sadly have to find another director for the next chapter in Veronica Roth’s fantastic series.”

Insurgent is scheduled to open on March 20 2015, while the finale Allegiant is thus far scheduled as a single film set to arrive on March 8 2016.