Back in June of last year it was announced that Lucasfilm had fired The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller with just weeks of production remaining on Solo: A Star Wars Story.
As you’d expect, the rumour mill soon went into overdrive, claiming that Lord and Miller’s sensibilities were out of tune with that of Lucasfilm and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, their improvisational style wasn’t working for Star Wars, and – perhaps most concerning of all – that Alden Ehrenreich’s performance as Han Solo was simply not up to par and he required an acting coach to be brought in.
Of course, Ron Howard has since stepped in, reshooting anything up to 80% of the movie according to reports, and the film remains on track for its May release. And, while it’s unlikely that we’re ever going to find out exactly what went on, Vulture is quoting an anonymous actor who worked on the movie – “not one of the film’s marquee stars” – who corroborates much of the rumours mentioned above.
SEE ALSO: Phil Lord and Chris Miller discuss their Solo: A Star Wars Story credit
“Phil and Chris are good directors, but they weren’t prepared for Star Wars,” states the source. “After the 25th take, the actors are looking at each other like, ‘This is getting weird.’ [Lord and Miller] seemed a bit out of control. They definitely felt the pressure; with one of these movies, there are so many people on top of you all the time. The first assistant director was really experienced and had to step in to help them direct a lot of scenes. When [Ron] came on, he took control and you could feel it. He got respect immediately. He’s really confident. A really easy guy to work with.”
As for Eldenreich and his performance, the source states that: “Trying to mimic Harrison Ford is really tough. Lucasfilm wanted something very specific: copying someone else. Alden’s not a bad actor — just not good enough. The coach helped. You could see his acting became more relaxed. He became more Harrison-like.”
Unlike Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where Tony Gilroy was brought in to rewrite much of the movie in preparation for the reshoots, the source claims that Howard has been working from the exact same script as Lord and Miller: “They’re filming exactly the same things. There’s nothing new. [Lord and Miller] used whole sets. But Ron is just using parts from those sets. I guess they’re not shooting wide angle. Maybe to save money.”
SEE ALSO: Solo: A Star Wars Story international posters and “blaster free” variants
Let’s hope that all these issues have been ironed out. We’ll find out if that’s the case in less than two months…
A new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.
Solo: A Star Wars Story features Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) as the famous smuggler, Donald Glover (Atlanta) as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Tobias Beckett, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) as L3-37, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Qi’Ra, Thandie Newton (Westworld) as Val, Ian Kenny (Sing Street) as Rebolt, Harley Durst (Wonder Woman) as Moloch, Tien Hoang (Now You See Me 2) as Moloch’s henchman and Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War) and Warwick Davis (Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi) and Jon Favreau (Spider-Man: Homecoming) in as-yet-unrevealed roles. It is set for release on May 25th 2018.
