Ang Lee pulls out of television project Tyrant citing fatigue from four years working on Life of Pi

Ang Lee with his award for best director and the Oscars 2013 (Getty Images)

Oscar winning-director Ang Lee has cancelled plans to direct the pilot of new US television series Tyrant, saying that he needed to rest after spending four years working on 3D fantasy-adventure film Life of Pi.

Lee, 58, signed on to direct the pilot of the drama series for cable network FX in March, shortly after winning the Best Director Oscar for Life of Pi.

"It is one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I've seen and one about which I was very excited," Lee said in a statement. "However, after spending over four years making and promoting Life of Pi, I have recently realised that I need some rest."

Tyrant tells the story of an American family that is pulled into the workings of a restive Middle Eastern nation, and Lee was slated to begin filming the pilot this summer.

It would have been the Taiwanese-born director's first foray into television.

Tyrant is produced by Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, who also are producers on Showtime's Emmy-winning counter-terrorism thriller Homeland.

FX, which did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment, is owned by Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corp.

Reuters