Way back in 2011, after Norwegian writer/director Andre Øvredal’s documentary-style monster epic Troll Hunter had become an international sensation, Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures snapped up the U.S. remake rights. Two years later, it was announced that Neil Marshall of The Descent and Centurion would direct the reboot. There hasn’t been much chatter about the project for a while now, and Øvredal has now confirmed why to this writer: It ain’t happening.

Øvredal, whose standout horror film The Autopsy of Jane Doe comes to VOD December 20 and select theaters the next day from IFC Films, says the English-language Troll Hunter “is not going anymore. We [Øvredal and the Norwegian producers] got the rights back, and I don’t think they will be pursuing another remake.”

As for why it didn’t go forward, “I don’t know exactly,” he continues. “I was very happy with what I read; I never communicated with anybody about it, but I read on-line that Neil Marshall was attached to direct it, and I was like, ‘OK, I can get behind that,’ and then suddenly it didn’t happen. I believe that just after signing up for Troll Hunter, Neil got too busy with Game of Thrones, and that’s what stopped it; that seems to be the case, anyway, and then it just kind of died.”

With the horror-remake train showing no sign of slowing down—An American Werewolf in London is the latest to board—fans will likely be happy that Øvredal’s original will stand alone (Guillermo del Toro’s animated Trollhunters Netflix series, premiering in December, notwithstanding). Meanwhile, Øvredal is gearing up to direct Mortal from his own screenplay, with Robert Sheehan announced to star. “It’s an action/adventure/sci-fi thing, delving back into certain aspects of Norwegian mythology,” he explains. “It’s not a creature movie, but it will have a supernatural element, for sure.”