You’ve probably learned by now that 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord are no longer directing the untitled Star Wars Han Solo spin-off. The pair have officially been replaced by veteran Ron Howard, who has just over two weeks to get to London, make a plan, and get it approved by Lucasfilm before filming recommences on July 10th. Considering the esteemed director’s pedigree and history with the Star Wars franchise, he will surely have no problem accomplishing this. But what, exactly, were the “creative difference” that lead to Lord and Miller’s firing?
According to a new Entertainment Weekly report, said differences won’t surprise anyone familiar with the pair’s comedic oeuvre of work and penchant for encouraging improvisation. Several sources with knowledge of the production, which began in February, claim Lord and Miller “began steering the Han Solo movie more into the genre of laughs than space fantasy” as soon as filming started. While another source told EW the pair’s focus on comedy wasn’t the primary issue of concern, the general “consensus” nonetheless suggested these deviations from the script co-written by Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon troubled Lucasfilm.
“They thought they were brought on to make a Phil and Chris movie,” a confidant of the fired directors told EW. “Sometimes they just thought the actors could do it differently” than what the Kasdans had written. Needless to say, the report indicates Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan saw the Han Solo spin-off going a different direction from Lord and Miller’s comedically playful dailies, so the two were let go and replaced with Howard.
Whether or not the new report proves to be true remains to be seen. Yet considering what happened between director Gareth Edwards and Lucasfilm on the set of Rogue One, the latter’s hiring of writer Tony Gilroy to write extensive new scenes, and the eventual reshoots, who knows?
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
