A couple of days ago, the internet broke when out of nowhere, Lucasfilm announced that they’ve fired directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the Han Solo Anthology Film, due to creative differences.
This came as a huge surprise as Lord and Miller have made a name for themselves helming critically acclaimed films like The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street. The internet was split. Some hated the fact that Kathleen Kennedy fired the established directors, especially this late in the game. While others said that Lucasfilm made the right call. After all, Tony Gilroy was called in to help steer Rogue One across the finish line when Lucasfilm realised that Gareth Edwards’ work wasn’t up to par. Me, I leant towards the latter as well. While Lord and Miller are good directors, having creative differences with Lawrence Kasdan, the writer who pretty much made Han Solo who he is, isn’t an issue that should be glossed over.
The biggest question is, why this late? If Lord and Miller had a different creative vision for this movie than Kasdan and Lucasfilm, why hire them in the first place? Or heck, why didn’t they get fired a few months ago. I guess we’ll never know the full story until the movie gets released. Or maybe we may never find out.
“WHY,” aside. The more important question was, if not Lord and Miller, then who?
Well, it seems like Lucasfilm have already found their answer in Ron Howard.
I'm beyond grateful to add my voice to the Star Wars Universe after being a fan since 5/25/77.
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) June 22, 2017
I hope to honor the great work already done & help deliver on the promise of a Han Solo film.
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) June 22, 2017
I don’t know how to feel about this. If this was 15 years ago, I would have been ecstatic. I mean, this is the man who won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind. But Ron Howard of the now is a completely different story altogether, making nonsense like Inferno and that crappy Moby Dick movie. Having said that, with all the talk about major reshoots and a last minute decision to completely change the ending, Rogue One ended up being a BRILLIANT movie. So, in Lucasfilm we trust, right?
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy had this to say:
At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began 40 years ago. With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew and the absolute commitment to make a great movie.
The still untitled Han Solo Anthology Film will hit cinemas May 2018.
