Deadline reports that actress Katherine Heigl has bowed out of the lead role in the upcoming movie Adaline, which is being distributed by Summit Entertainment.

We last reported on this movie back in July, when director Andy Tennant signed on. While Tennant remains with the project, Katherine Heigl left, reportedly because she is not ready to return to work after recently adopting a daughter.

There are rumors that Katherine Heigl was fired by Lakeshore Entertainment after several disagreements with the studio. However, Lakeshore and reps for Katherine Heigl denied that rumor. Here's what Lakeshore's Gary Lucchesi, who is also a producer on Adaline, had to say about Katherine Heigl bowing out of the production:

"She has made two movies with us and we certainly support her decision. We were scheduled to shoot mid-March and we hope to achieve that. We are great fans of hers and if this is what she has to do, we respect that."

The role will be re-cast immediately in order to meet their March production start date. Andy Tennant is directing from a script by J. Mills Goodloe and Salvador Paskowitz, with Allison Burnett revising the original story. The plot centers on a beautiful woman who mysteriously became immortal and has looked like she was in her mid-twenties for the past 100 years.

Angela Lansbury has signed onto play the immortal woman's daughter.