Following the disastrous hack of Sony Pictures and the subsequent cancelled release of comedy movie The Interview, New Regency has taken the decision to scrap another project set in the controversial state. An untitled thriller - though going by the name Pyongyang - being developed by Gore Verbinski and set to star Steve Carell was due to go into production in March but will now be canned.

FoxcatcherSteve Carell [L] is likely to score an Oscar nomination for Foxcatcher

The movie, described a "paranoid thriller" was originally set up in October though sources say that under the current circumstances it makes no sense to move forward. Fox also declined to distribute the film, according to Deadline.

Regency has a multiyear deal with Verbinski, who will now move onto the horror movie A Care for Wellness by the writers behind Revolutionary Road and Passengers. There is also a large scale comedy in the works.

More: at the behest of North Korea, Sony cancels release of The Interview

Carell quite rightly called the decision, "a sad day for creative expression", on Twitter.

The actor, who remains a contender to win best actor at the Oscars for his remarkable display in Foxcatcher, will now turn his attention to the Looney Tunes movie Acme, at Warner Bros. Carell will play the lead in the project, which is being produced by Dan Lin and Roy Lee - the men behind the hugely successful The Lego Movie.

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Plot details are being kept under wraps but it is likely to focus on the Acme Corporation, a fictional manufacturer of crazy products that are used by numerous Looney Tunes characters, most commonly, Wile E. Coyote in his seemingly never ending quest to capture the Road Runner.

The movie will not center on any of the Looney Tunes characters in particular and is being planned as a CG/live-action hybrid.