Reese Witherspoon has dropped out of Noah Hawley’s Fox Searchlight film “Pale Blue Dot,” clearing the way for a second installment of HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”

A spokesperson for HBO did not confirm any information regarding “Big Little Lies” season 2.

Witherspoon had been attached to star in and produce “Pale Blue Dot” since 2015. Hawley, creator of FX’s “Fargo” and “Legion” came aboard last year to direct the film. based on the original spec script by Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi. The story follows a successful female astronaut who, after coming back home from a mission in space, starts to unravel when confronted by her seemingly-perfect American dream life. The story explores the theory that astronauts who spend long periods of time staring at the Earth from space begin to lose their sense of reality when they return home.

But Hawley’s busy schedule meant that production had to begin early next year. As “Big Little Lies” season two comes into focus, the task of managing multiple in-demand stars’ schedules made the same period the most likely window for work to begin on a second season.

TVLine reported Thursday that HBO is eyeing spring 2018 for production on a second “Big Little Lies” season.

“Big Little Lies” won eight Primetime Emmy Awards in September, tying Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” for the second most awards behind “Saturday Night Live.” Based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, “Big Little Lies starred Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley. It tells the intersecting stories of multiple women living in the coastal California community of Monterey.

HBO has repeatedly declined to confirm whether a second season of “Big Little Lies” is in the works. Speaking backstage at the Emmys in September, Moriarty was asked about a possible season 2. ““I’m thinking about it,” she said. “It’s a beautiful possibility.”