Variety reports that Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin has divorced himself from Universal's same-sex comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

The studio announced earlier this month that Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Dobkin were readying a comedy about two straight firefighters who pose as a gay married couple for insurance purposes.

Dobkin dropped out abruptly on Wednesday, citing big creative differences, but his exit came before he had a pay or play deal, studio sources said. Word is Dobkin ankled because there was a gap between the Sandler vehicle the studio expected to make and Dobkin's view of what the film should be. Studio reps said there were no creative differences -- he simply passed.

Universal will look to bring in a replacement helmer to keep the film on track for an August start. Alexander Payne and James Taylor wrote the script. Pic is expected to get under way later this year.