After yesterday’s surprising news that Disney and Lucasfilm had parted ways with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) has taken over. Howard was revealed to be the front-runner yesterday.
The split between Lord, Miller and Lucasfilm came from disagreements over the film’s tone. It was reported that screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan wasn’t happy with Lord and Miller’s interpretation of the Han Solo character, and their “their comedic sensibility and improvisational style”. Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy agreed, leading to their departure from the project this past Monday.
Howard will be meeting with the film’s stars -Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton – today, with THR describing it as a “rattled set”. He is also set to look at a rough cut to determine what needs to be done ahead of production resuming on July 10th.
SEE ALSO: The fallout of Lord & Miller’s exit from the Galaxy Far, Far Away
SEE ALSO: Lord & Miller vs. Kasdan & Kennedy: A Fight for the future of our franchise films
UPDATE: Here’s the official announcement from Lucasfilm:
“At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “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. Filming will resume the 10th of July.”
Ron Howard has a lot of connections to George Lucas, appearing in the director’s American Graffiti and he was even approached with the chance to direct Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
The still untitled Han Solo movie has around four weeks left of production, and five weeks of planned reshoots. It will be interesting to see how the Director’s Guild of America handle this situation and if Howard will be given full credit, or joint credit with Lord and Miller.
SEE ALSO: 12 directors who left/got fired from movies during production
Han Solo stars Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) as the famous smuggler, Donald Glover (Atlanta) as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Beckett (Solo’s mentor), Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) as a droid. Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Thandie Newton (Westworld), Ian Kenny (Sing Street) and Michael K. Williams (The Night Of) have been cast in unrevealed roles.
Fuzzy says
Well I’m assuming they’re not reshooting all of Lord and Miller’s work (around 4 months work I’m guessing) so they should get a credit surely? Did Donner get a credit for all the work he did on Superman 2?
Gary@FlickeringMyth says
Richard Donner doesn’t have a credit on Superman II. I may be wrong, but I believe the DGA rules are that only one director (or directing team) can be credited. So I reckon it will probably go to Howard.
Passer-by says
Based on what I’ve read, about 75 percent of Superman II had already been shot by Richard Donner when he was fired from the production. According to DGA rules Richard Lester had to shoot at least 51 percent of the movie to receive sole credit as director. So he re-shot scenes already shot by Donner in order to get to the 51 percent requirement and get his sole directing credit.
lheffe20 says
Seems to be heading for a battle with the Directors Guild according to rumors depending on how much footage changes.
Jack says
Ronny Howard? Seriously? He’s a boring storyteller who always takes the easiest way. I was excited to see the imagination of Miller/Lord, but Howard doesn’t do it for me. Kennedy is doing a big disservice to “Star Wars” and herself…
Tracy Emert says
Go watch ‘Willow’. Then come back.
Barry N5 says
You know what, I’m a Ron Howard fan…. but No, heck No!
I’m gobsmacked that a director of his experience would want to pick up the pieces. I’m guessing they’re paying him a stupid amount of money. Why else would he lower himself. I’m losing all respect here for Lucasfilm & Disney.
lheffe20 says
It seems like a strange choice for this particular movie.
Passer-by says
They need a very experienced director who can step in and get up to speed quickly in a situation like this. Ron Howard fits the bill. If not him then Robert Zemeckis or Steven Spielberg could also do the job. This is definitely not a job for a newbie director.
Some Guy says
This isn’t a job for any director…. other than Lord & Miller. Kathleen Kennedy is the problem here. Sure, The Force Awakens made money. But of course it did. It was always going to make money. But the feedback has been very negative & did damage. As a result Rogue One made less box office. In fact half. Now with the rumours that The Last Jedi has issues, I’m guessing that will not do as well. Probably half again. So following these predictions. We are looking at Hsn Solo being a possible flop. Especially with the general fan backlash. They defiantly got rid of the wrong guys.
Fuzzy says
I think with Howard is that they’re basically doing a ‘phone a friend’. A favour to Kennedy and Lucasfilm. They’re not looking for a perfect fit for this type of film, more an experienced pair of hands they can trust to see it through.
Bo says
Seeing how I couldn’t care less about these Star War movies I find it hard to believe this is in such shambles it would be next to impossible to make a coherent movie. Again, why did they hire these goof ball out in left field comedy duo if they didn’t have a pretty good idea of what kind of movie they would make? Four months of shooting is a long time with not much left to do. Were Kennedy and Kaiden blind during this time? I’ve worked on a couple of really big movies and I can tell you we are not even getting close to learning just went down with this production and might not ever. Again, though, in the end for me it’s who cares? I guess a lot of people do so I hope Howard can salvage it enough so these fans enjoy what they are going to get.
filmklassik says
The headline “Ron Howard will direct the Han Solo movie following Lord & Miller’s departure” is incredibly misleading. It implies that shooting hasn’t even begun yet, and that L&M departed during preproduction, when in fact they had been filming for FOUR MONTHS.
Four months. That’s a long time. Most of the movie must be finished by now.
So this sounds like a salvage operation.
Leila Benhamida says
Ron Howard may surprise us. He is a fantastic director. I am sure il will have some help if needed.