With his latest film Baby Driver set to arrive next week [read our review here], Edgar Wright has been chatting to Digital Spy about the director situation on Lucasfilm’s latest project, Han Solo: A Star Wars Story.
For those not up to speed, it was announced this week that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller had been taken off the spinoff project with the reason being cited as creative differences. Yesterday, it was then revealed that Ron Howard would be taking over production.
Asked by the outlet whether he’d have been interested in stepping in to complete the Han Solo movie, Wright responded: “No they’re friends of mine – I would never do that. Also, having been in that situation myself, the idea of finishing someone else’s movie is not something I would do on an ethical level.”
Edgar Wright does indeed know what it feels like, as Marvel took him off of Ant-Man for the same reasons, with Peyton Reed subsequently coming in to direct the superhero blockbuster.
Nevertheless, this all begs the question of whether studios should give more artistic freedom to the talent they hire or if they are expected to fall in line to create a product representative of the franchise. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
SEE ALSO: Lord & Miller vs. Kasdan & Kennedy: A Fight for the future of our franchise films
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), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Thandie Newton (Westworld), Ian Kenny (Sing Street) and Michael K. Williams (The Night Of) in as-yet-unrevealed roles. It is set for release on May 25th 2018.
Originally published June 23, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
