Last Saturday a horrible rumor starting spreading regarding Lexi Alexander, the director on the upcoming Punisher: War Zone movie being put out of the film by Lionsgate and Marvel. Apparently, sometime prior to the San Diego Comic Con this past weekend, Alexander was fired, even after principal photography had finished.

At the Punisher: War Zone panel at SDCC last Thursday, Gale Anne Hurd, producer on the film, told people that Alexander was away on her honeymoon. According to Harry Knowles at AICN, this was nothing but a “cover” or, as Knowles described it, a “bald face lie.”

It seems that multiple sources are confirming that Alexander has indeed been fired from the movie, as has Christopher Franke the film’s composer, and replacing his work with heavy metal music. Needless to say, no one is happy about this, after hearing the attached music to the movie’s trailer at the panel.

What is even more frustrating is that Alexander is unable to comment due to the non-disclosure clause in her contract.

Punisher: War Zone, which original was scheduled for a September 2008 release, will now open in theaters on December 5, 2008.