Cameras may have already started rolling but a few cast members are finding it difficult to commit to the film schedule for Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained. A couple of weeks back Joseph Gordon-Levitt had to pull out of his role as one of two slave trading siblings because of his commitment to his directorial debut. Now comes word that Kurt Russell and Sacha Baron Cohen will no longer be appearing in the film, which is currently shooting for a December release.

Cohen made the announcement of him exiting the role on The Howard Stern Show, citing scheduling conflicts with his press tour for The Dictator as the reason why he had to exit the project. There is also the issue of shooting his role in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables that comes into conflict with shooting his cameo in Django Unchained.

Variety reports that Russell had to leave, but did not give a specific reason as to why he left. However, there is a rumor going around that says Russell believed that the script wasn’t western enough. Russell had replaced Kevin Costner who initially left because he had scheduling conflicts of his own. Russell would have placed the role of Ace Woody, a slave trailer for the Candie Land slave plantation.

No word yet on who will replace these two roles, but Beaks over at ACIN has said that Russell’s role “has essentially been absorbed by Walton Goggins, who plays the equally nasty Billy Crash.”

Though Cohen and Russell’s departure is a loss, it isn’t a significant one, the roles they would have played were mere cameos. Django Uchained stars Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, M.C. Gainey, Garrett Dillahunt, Dennis Christopher, Gerald McRaney, Laura Cayouette, Don Johnson, and Tom Savini. The film is scheduled for a December 25th release.

[Source: Variety, The Howard Stern Show, AICN]