OFFICIAL: Ron Howard Stepping in to Complete the Han Solo Movie
Ron Howard has been chosen to right the (fast) ship and take over as director of the Star Wars: Han Solo movie. Thanks to an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter, we have learned that Lucasfilm has reached out and brought in an old friend to helm the rest of production.
As we all learned yesterday, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired as directors of the Han Solo movie. Now, thanks to an exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter, we have learned that legendary director Ron Howard has been brought in to complete the film. Ron Howard is not just somebody who is sitting at home waiting by the phone, so the wheels must have been in motion for a while. Howard will join production for the remaining weeks of filming, including re-shoots.
Howard, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter, will meet with the actors — Alden Ehrenreich is playing the iconic smuggler, Donald Glover is playing Lando Calrissian, with Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, and Thandie Newton also on the roll call — to soothe a rattled set and will pore over a rough edit to see what the project has and still needs.
Based on his discussions with Lucasfilm on the quality of what has been filmed and what the film needs going forward, it’s easy to imagine filming could be extended.
Howard is no stranger to Lucasfilm and its creator George Lucas. As many of you probably know Ron Howard was a part of the cast (alongside Harrison Ford) of one of Lucas’ first films (and Lucasfilm’s first) American Graffiti in 1973.
Fifteen years after acting for Lucas, after developing his own directing portfolio with films like Nightshift, Splash, and Cocoon, Howard returned to Lucasfilm to direct George Lucas’ fantasy film Willow, and while it did not become a massive success like Star Wars, it became a cult favorite and loved by many, and starred none other than Star Wars legend and Han Solo cast member Warwick Davis!
George Lucas attempted to tap the well again when he offered Howard the chance to direct The Phantom Menace:
Howard also revealed on a podcast in 2015 that Lucas had approached him to direct 1999’s Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace.
Lucas eventually decided to maintain complete control of the prequel trilogy and directed all three himself.
Since his time working with George Lucas both as a young actor and director, Howard has gone on to win the Academy Award for Best Director for A Beautiful Mind. He will now become the first Star Wars director to have ever won that Oscar.
Early reactions are focusing on the fact that Ron Howard is a “safe choice” and some are even calling it uninspired, but if you look back at Howard’s connections to Lucasfilm, he has been a part of its spawning, its post-Star Wars legacy, almost a part of the prequel trilogy, and now he is returning to help old friends complete a story that both Kathleen Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan know means a lot to fans and needs to be done right. Kasdan has made it clear this is his final contribution to Star Wars, and what better person to properly bring his legendary words to life than a Lucasfilm original, Ron Howard.
What are your thoughts on Howard coming aboard to complete the Han Solo movie? Sound off in the comments below, and blast off to the Cantina to discuss it with everyone!
You can discuss this happy day with me on Twitter @JohnnyHoey
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John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast
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“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,” – Kennedy. That’s an absolute lie. The spirit Lucas brought was to create content free of the tight control of the studio system. Kennedy is the tight control studio system and her highest goal is without a single doubt… MONEY.
that is what Lucas told people in the 1970s, but the special editions and the prequels were complete cash grabs at the expense of story telling. Yes, Jorge directed some amazing sequences, but much of the plot and characters were shoved in to make toys or games
Still this Disney era of Star Wars is more blatant about it then Lucas ever was. Lucas did not put out a new movie ever year or constantly had rumors that the products were plagued with behind the scenes drama.
“or constantly had rumors that the products were plagued with behind the scenes drama.”
That’s because the original trilogy came out before the Internet existed. Don’t you know how troubled the productions of ANH and ESB were? Those films never would have made it into theaters nowadays.
Talking about the PTs not the OTs sorry for the confusion… Beyond the storm that destroyed the sets from ep. I i am not awhere of any drama on the sets of Ep I, II, or III
That’s quite an assumption. Exactly which parts were added to the movies to make toys or games?
Yeah Say what you want about the PTs but Lucas got to make the movies he wanted to make from his mind without a studio telling him he was wrong and that he needed to meet strict control from a studio.
you miss my point – I am saying the Lucas BECAME the studio – even with the ROTJ, the creative team wanted to go in different directions, and he just wanted to get the movie made quickly. Leia was never supposed to be Luke’s sister – but Lucas (aka the STUDIO HEAD) decided to just wrap it up so he could go make Howard the Duck
Lucas always was the studio- that was the point and it was his prerogative to change the story to match his own vision. At the end of the day, even if the movie failed or was flawed, he didn’t have to answer to a board of directors or a team of lawyers for not staying on the approved script.
Thank you for putting my thoughts into words GL may be his own studio but he never had to answer for his mistakes or flaws and was never going to be replaced by the studio because of them. While i can take or leave some of the PTs mainly Ep, II i cant fault the guy for wanting to finish SW the way he wanted to because it was his (Not to start a fight over whether GL or fans own SW).
There has been plenty of times in life where someone told me that things had to be done a certain way and i wish i could have done it my way but couldn’t because i wasn’t the boss. We could all argue about studios and bosses until we’re blue in the face but to quote Mel Brooks “Its good to b the king.”
Have to take exception with your last. Lucas’ involvement with Howard was a late-in-the-game favor to the Huycks, adding his name as producer to help them get the thing finished.
..and those movies were all terrible. So maybe he should have had a studio there to tell him not to make such shitty films.
Probably but Lucas spent his entire career before the PTs to get away from the studio, so it makes little sense for him to go back to the system he was trying to get away from… Plus say what you want the PTs made lots of money and were and still are profitable. If they tanked at the Box office this conversation right now probably would be way different or not at all.
Except not. Lucas basically took ROTJ from Marquand in the editing bay and made it to his liking.
Yes LUCAS did, that’s exactly the point. It was his creative control, not a board of directors or people otherwise interested in simply making money, whatever Lucas did with his own company and own product is on him. Kennedy isn’t what Lucas was to Lucas Film, she is a cog at Disney.
He took it from the director same as she is doing. She is his handpicked successor, not a cog at Disney, no more than Kevin Feige is at Marvel. BUt nice try!
I think the distinction being made is that Lucas was really the creative force on those films, with Marquand in particular pretty much acting as a proxy for him…when Lucas himself wasn’t on set directing that is. Lucas wasn’t beholden to a corporate overlord. It’s not a perfect analogy.
No, I get it what he is saying, but I just don’t think it matters in the end because KK was picked by Lucas to be the new Lucas.
Lucas hand-picked her to be his successor. His vision was for her to be what he was to LFL.
Then she turned to the dark side, “I loved you, you were my sister, you were supposed to make good SW movies, not just cash grabs!”
That was before he decided to sell to Disney- different game now.
The reason your argument doesn’t hold water is that Kennedy and Kasdan are George Lucas in this situation and Lord and Miller are Richard Marquand. If MONEY was the only motivating factor they wouldn’t have hired a top tier director to reshoot an entire movie so that Lawrence Kasdan is happy. What they’re doing is costing a lot of MONEY.
Wrong. Lucas wasn’t controlled by Disney. Kennedy is. Kennedy may or may not mind if Lord or Miller don’t stick to script personally but Disney sure does, and Kennedy is a proxy of disney. Going off script could mean offending the Chinese Market, which could mean a loss of 100 million.
Completely not understanding your Chinese Market comment.
If the Chinese censors won’t approve the movie for viewing they will potentially not show screen the movie there. That would be a huge blow to the, more important than domestic, worldwide gross of future movies. In general, blockbuster movies are being created to cater to general worldwide audiences so they are easily translatable and not offensive to diverse cultures. This process of compliance takes a ton of red tape and is imperative to stay to the approved disney script or else it could threaten that worldwide gross.
What drugs are you on? You’re constantly ranting and raving about an imaginary scenario that you made up in your head, and you’re not making any sense.
Take a nap. Get it together.
Wrong. Everyone at Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar have remarked how hands off Disney is. Bob Iger understands how to put good people in place and let them create. Kathleen Kennedy has been a power player in Hollywood for 35 years. You’re mistaken if you believe she is anyone’s puppet.
That is not a thing. Kennedy has in fact said in interviews that Bob Iger generally calls her multiple times a day, sometimes at 3 or 4 in the morning. The head of Disney just pick up the phone just to shoot the shit and say ‘hi’ at 3am.
He certainly was in frequent contact during TFA . They spent $4 billion on the property. It would be negligence if he didn’t know what was happening with the film and offering his input. That’s a long way from exerting creative control.
“What struck me most of all was how hands-off he (Bob Iger) was.” -J.J. Abrams (Variety)
and they also remarked how much they really wanted to harness Miller and Lorde’s creative sensibilities. come on man, read between the lines.
One would assume they were hired to bring some of their flavor to the project. I was looking forward to that but they didn’t have license to ignore the script and turn Han Solo into 21 Jump Street. If Kasdan says it’s not Han Solo then it’s not Han Solo.
Everyone involved has said that Disney isn’t interfering in the film making process but I guess you would know better. Thanks for the scoop!
Meh. This movie is still completely unnecessary and now that it is 3/4 done filming will most likely have vastly different tones for the character. Good luck Ron on fixing this mess.
Is any movie “necessary”? An odd metric.
About as odd as your unwavering defense of the brand.
My defense of the brand? Lol, what an odd way to put it. I will gladly criticize Star Wars and indeed have on many occasions. I just find the criticisms I often read around here to be half baked or ignorant or devoid of facts.
A movie is only “unnecessary” if YOU don’t want to see it. But YOU are only one person so…shrug
I haven’t seen anything of the contrary, I just see constant snarky remarks from anyone you disagree with. I should have been more clear, I believe the film to be unnecessary, many people agree, others don’t. That is life. Shrug.
Yes, I am aware, but as I said, people only think a film is unnecessary if they don’t want to see it, but here you are discussing a thing you don’t want to see.
And as I said, no film is NECESSARY, but it’s art! If you don’t like it, fine, no problem. But that doesn’t mean a thing shouldn’t exist simply because it doesn’t interest you. There are plenty of things I don’t like and I simply don’t see them.
As for me not criticizing Star Wars, pay more attention? I am usually of the “wait and see” mindset about unreleased stuff and until LFL screws up, I give them the benefit of the doubt.
But just to make you happy:
I think Rebels previous season totally forgot about Ezra’s arc to focus on the larger Rebellion.
I think Dave Filoni has a hard time of letting go of old characters to the detriment of the story.
I don’t care for KOTOR’s era and hope they never really explore that era, but if they do, I will give it a shot and if I don’t like it, I will ignore it.
The prequels are flawed as hell, but I still love them.
Battlefront wasn’t fun to play.
I think Rae Sloane is overrated.
I wish Talon Karrde still existed.
But is he wrong though? What makes a movie “necessary”? And who gets to decide what is necessary or not?
I should have spoken better, I personally don’t believe that this movie is necessary. Others feel the same way, others feel differently. That’s all.
Episode 8. That is a necessary movie.
Not really. We can just make up the story for Episode 8 in our heads. No one NEEDS Episode 8. So it’s not necessary.
lol, yes, but was Episode 7?
Now the question is if the movie will still premiere in May. I’ll be surprised if they can manage that, because it sounds like they’re reshooting most of the movie. It doesn’t sound like Howard is on board to just shoot some additional stuff to fix. It sounds like he’s now the director completely.
I like his 90s, light-adventure style, now let’s hope the overlord gives him freedom and lets him do his thing.
There is no freedom. The whole reason the previous team was fired was because it would be inconvenient for Kennedy to have to schedule another meeting into her day to explain to the lawyers of Disney that there may be a script change. Scripts at big studios are nothing more than legal documents at this point.
I wasn’t told it would be Hollywood Reporter first, but damn this just verified one of my sources. Ran this hours ago.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/99742b2d7b874ac8591de3e6eb560cd80e3c7cfefea5735da461c751020f913f.png
Fine by me.
Who will get credit for directing it? Will it be settled as an ‘Alan Smithee’ movie?
The DGA is going to have a fun time figuring that one out
I don’t think they use the Alan Smithee pseudonym anymore. Any other fake name can be used.
I think it depends on the amount of footage that Lord and Miller directed which will appear in the final cut. The DGA audits this.
If Howard directs footage that comprises the majority amount in the final cut, then he”ll likely be titled director.
Probably all three men will be credited, unless the Lord and Miller footage is considerably scrapped.
Tough to say. Richard Lester was the only guy credited for Superman 2 although Richard Donner directed more of the film, but that was 30 years ago too so it could be possible that all of them get credit.
“Han Solo: A Star Wars Story” directed by Ron Howard (with special thanks but no thanks to Phil Lord and Chris Miller)
The DGA will decide but it will most likely come down to what percentage of L&M’s footage makes the final cut. I have a feeling Ron Howard isn’t there to edit someone else’s movie. I bet they reshoot all of the 1st unit stuff.
They’ll probably try to reshoot as much of Lord and Miller’s footage as they can without missing the release date.
Ron Howard.
I would presume Lord and Miller received some financial payoff for their services no longer required.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7b8b4bf034b43c87362c7af5e4a8273c512aaa06baff616fbfa97bf3b17e5601.png
Thank God!
Ok then this movie and rogue one will have 2 versions
Lot of movies have multiple versions. it’s what they decide in the editing bay.
Weird. This makes one reconsider Rian’s supposed ‘freedom’ of artistic expression on TLJ [you could see dynamic at Celebration between him Kathleen as being lightly treaded mutual respect. You get the sense they had some differences, but perhaps it’s easier to keep your director on an episode film than a spin-off.]
I don’t see how bringing Howard in will change much anyway, considering 70% of the movie is already shot.
It’s just like with anything in life. If I go in to the barbershop and tell the barber, “Just make it look good”, I just gave him creative freedom. But as the client, I can always tell him to take some more off the side when he’s finished. If he refuses to do so, I’ll go to another barber.
Haha, that is a great analogy.
Although a nice analogy, I, as a barber would get mixed signals as to what is “look good” for you. Personally, I hate man buns, maybe the barber thinks that is a “good look”. Of course directors mostly have to work within certain boundaries, especially in a franchise, but let’s be honest, this constant conflict with directors make it seem that they indeed are just hired guns to manufacture on demand.
Never mention man buns again. I literally dry heaved.
LoL
It kind of has to be that way though. Creativity only has no limits with something you own or come up with yourself. When you work in a franchise, you are inherently beholden to some preset criteria. Creative freedom only goes as far as the powers that be allow. I’ve always viewed the LFL/director relationships this way. I think Johnson is telling the truth from his point of view, and I also think the stuff about L&M is true. The difference is they liked what Johnson was doing, so they didn’t buck on him like they have with L&M and thus he felt free to create what he wanted.
I guess we’re stuck with that right? Using an another analogy, is like walking into a McDonalds and wanting a customized burger. :/
Just go to Burger King. “Have it your way”.
Plus, you can’t “do whatever the heck you want” with Han, Chewie, and Lando. It has to fit in with the rest. Maybe L&M were going a little too off the rails with their characters.
Not even remotely the same thing.
It’s just an analogy. The point is that KK most likely wasn’t happy with the result after she trusted them to churn out a great SW movie, she probably asked them to make changes, they refused, & she got someone else who would play ball.
A lot can change since much of “telling a story visually” takes place in the editing room. We’ve seen time and again with SW fan edits how different cuts of scenes, beats and timing can greatly improve the viewing experience. After Watching Q’s edits of SW prequels, I can never go back to the originals.
Editing can only do so much. The characters’ emotions and actions are still what the editor has to work with and much of that is dictated by the director. Plus, Theo issue here seems to be that of veering from the script, so that’s another thing.
Was it the part where she said Rian was about to join the pantheon of great film makers that gave away their strained relationship? I was way off because it looked like a lovefest to me.
That’s the point; she probably would have said the same about these guys, had they finished the movie.
For real? Cause she didn’t say that about Gareth. Let’s meet here in two years and see if she’s said the same about Colin. Deal?
I’d say there’s a very good chance he won’t be directing IX anyway…
I wasn’t demeaning Colin’s competency as a director. I’m certain he’ll bring something really unique to the saga. It was the shallow mutual feigning between him and Kennedy that hinted at their likely having differences of opinion.
Granted, the diffference here is that Colin is more of an introvert, and you can get away with a lot more under the guise of humble auteur than you can as say….a seat of the pants risk taker [wich it looks like Phil & Cris may have been.]
Excellent choice. Exactly who you want in this situation.
I agree – they should save the quirky / alt directors for non-traditional spin off movies (aka something without old, beloved characters)
Good point.
This. My bet is that they weren’t treating Han Solo’s (or Lando’s) character correctly. You can do whatever the heck you want in a totally original spinoff, but in something like this, it needs to fit in.
Yes someone who will play ball with KK!
No, someone who is experienced and has a wide range of experience in many genres and will not be overwhelmed by the project.
It’s every directors job to play ball with their producer. That’s the biz.
What I just don’t get is if the whole reason Disney/Lucasfilm brought in Lord and Miller in for their specific style and they saw that they weren’t making the movie Disney/Lucasfilm liked then why did they wait until 3 weeks until they were done with principal photography to do it? Kathleen Kennedy didn’t just looking at dailies recently did she? I just find the timing of the change to be very interesting and very worrisome. Despite one of the best third acts in all of Star Wars, Rogue One was very uneven tonally (my opinion), and I feel like we might be getting the same thing now. They shouldn’t be bringing in these directors with specific visions and styles if they aren’t willing to go in that direction especially since these are supposed to be the ‘different’ than the saga films. Making a movie is collaborative effort yes, but we shouldn’t be acting like getting fired so soon to the end of principal photography is a normal or a good thing.
Howard is a solid director and I think that Lucasfilm has made this change early enough that they can still deliver an enjoyable film by May of next year.
Haven’t cared much for this film, but good move. Actually think I’m more interested in this film now than I was when it was just Lord and Miller. Should be interesting if anything to see what is produced out of such an unexpected series of events!
I’m more interested in it now as well. I trust Howard to find the spirit of Star Wars in this, and it sounds like that’s what L&M couldn’t/wouldn’t do.
Ron Howard is a great choice not only because of his longtime connection to LucasFilm, but because he’s an excellent director himself. I’m not really understanding the antagonism towards Kathleen Kennedy, Lawrence Kasdan, LucasFilm and Disney in some of the comments…. Kennedy and Kasdan have incredible experience, they have been excellent stewards of the Star Wars legacy, and when I look at all that’s going on currently in SW World – two new Oscar-nominated blockbuster films, Rebels, two new theme parks, and more films on the way – I think it’s an incredible time to be a SW fan. JJ, Gareth and Rian all seem to have had good experiences working with Kennedy and Disney…. Trank and Lord and Miller may just have been bold choices that turned out to be too risky/inexperienced to handle the Star Wars legacy. I have a lot of faith in Kennedy and think she’s done a spectacular job honoring what George Lucas created and charting a path forward. I also wouldn’t be surprised if talks were already underway with Ron Howard regarding one of the other future Star Wars movies and that’s how this deal came together so quickly.
Exactly! I think there are a lot of people here that don’t understand Kennedy and Kasdan’s roles at Lucasfilm or their long history with Lucas and Star Wars. This is not a Fasn4stic or BvS situation where corporate heads get involved and wreck a movie. They’re saving Star Wars! She apparently understands what made the OT great better than Lucas does. If she says Han Solo didn’t feel like a Star Wars movie who is in any position to disagree? The internet is simultaneously the greatest thing and worst thing that has ever existed.
If saving Star Wars is putting out 2 okay movies and a tv series that has one great episode out of every 5 all while making an absolutely incredible amount of money on advertising deals and products. Yes, they saved Lucasfilm.
Most people would say those two films are great and you must be referring to The Freemaker Adventures because Rebels is made for children and it’s mind blowing that it’s so good. Even if we keep the Leeroy scale, and everything that’s come out recently is just mediocre, then yes they have definitely saved Star Wars. Most people think the prequels are a joke and the brand was becoming less relevant with each passing year before Kathleen took over.
That’s only opinion, The numbers were still strong with EU material and box office and post box office still did good with the prequels, and it didn’t matter who made 7, because the announcement of having the “big 3” was a guaranteed money making project.
I’ve said it time and again,,,as the shine wears off of 7, the more people realize that it was a lesser movie.
I never had any hope that the unneeded Solo movie will be any good, and I have high hopes that 8 redeems 7, from a story perspective.
sorry, i forgot this is a fanboy site and all that comes with it. I’ll keep thought to myself.
Say what you want. Just be prepared for criticism and rebuttal.
I would say that Force Awakens is a mediocre movie (great characters, great dialogue, terrible story) and Rogue One is a less mediocre, more solid movie that gives up a little Star Wars fun in the process only to take it to 11 in the final third.
Agree with all except R1…That movie was badass…although, I didn’t like the score for the film.
This ↑↑↑ You can’t really argue with people that think TFA is the greatest SW movie ever…
*2 critically acclaimed films that were adored by audiences and have made a total of over $3 billion worldwide*
Which means that they put out 2 of the best SW movies we ever had e a tv series that is keeping the brand relevant for the youngest generations, thus ensuring the franchise will survive for several years to come.
Yeah, no, they are doing a pretty good job.
Well said! I like your comparisons to FF and BvS….. This situation is so not that. And while there are certainly parts of the PT that I like, I agree that Kathleen has provided excellent guidance for the new films with what made the OT great.
Good post. I agree Ron Howard is a solid choice, and I’ll bet KK and Lucasfilm had a complete Plan B before letting L&M go.
I still think KK is timid about moving too far from the SW “formula”, even for the spinoff films….but L&M must have really messed up for all this to happen. Can’t wait for the tabloid story details to come out!
I was hoping with bringing in Edwards and more so with Lord & Miller that Lucasfilm and Disney were looking to try new things with these Star Wars spin-offs and not make them seem so closely familiar with the tone and feel of the OT. Take some chances. So part of me is disappointed.
OOO…I wish he would’ve taken the job back in the late 90s!
I’d rather have Ron on an Episode or a more original spinoff.
Lucas actually asked him to direct Episode 1, but he didn’t want to. I guess he read the script, lol.
I mention that in the article
Good news. Between me, you and the internet I think he’s a better choice and I hope they give him the space to re shoot what’s necessary.
Fantastic news. Now the project is in good hands. I couldn’t grasp why those two goof-balls were hired in the first place!
The best choice, I really like the feeling he puts in his films, this is good for SW, I believe it is in good hands.
If by “safe choice” they mean competent and likely to turn in not only a good film but one with the Star Wars logo then safe choice = good choice.
Looks like they found their director who will just shut up and do as he is told.
That is a really hot take. Why is Ron Howard “the safe choice”? Because he is a veteran who has made solid movies. Isn’t that exactly what they would need in this crisis situation? Also, word is that Kasdan was not pleased with their handling of the script (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/22/ron-howard-star-wars-spin-off-han-solo-movie-phil-lord-chris-miller), and you know who Kasdan trusts and who trusts Kasdan? Ron Howard.
The question is why is the movie in crisis? Because Lord and Miller were ad-libbing scenes and not just straight up shooting the script. Something they are known for and has worked very very well for them with their movies. So Kasdan an old school writer/director and Kennedy a old school producer get pissed and fire them because they aren’t strictly following the script they were provided. They then immediately hire an old school director who will just shoot the script he has been provided. Howard has no style, he takes well written scripts and turns them into good movies. Howard has made good movies for sure, but they trust him because he will shoot and script and take no artistic license at all which is boring.
In short, a safe choice, just as they’ve been doing since 2012
Yes haha
Nice speculation you have there.
[CITATION NEEDED]
You have literally no proof of your wild speculation. Even the RUMORS say that the real problem was more of the characterization/slash tone being too comedic (which makes sense). Ron Howard is an Oscar-winning veteran direcor who knows how to play ball with studios and has been involved with Star Wars for a long time. Don’t read too far into this.
There are tons of sources stating that Lord and Miller have a very ad-lib or improvisational approach to filmmaking and they brought that approach to the Han Solo movie. Kasdan and Kennedy kept pushing for a more traditional approach. Howard is a very traditional film maker. I did not speculate on why they were fired. Granted I was sarcastic about how good of a director Ron Howard is.
No rumors say that L&M were fired because of too much ad-libbing. If you remember, Ervin Kershner (the guy who directed the best SW film of all time) was a big fan of such a thing. L&M were fired because they wanted to make Ace Ventura in Space.
In the case of the Han Solo spinoff shakeup, insiders say that Lord and Miller clashed with Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy and writer and executive producer Lawrence Kasdan over their vision for the film and its execution. Lord and Miller wanted to inject more cheekiness into the “Star Wars” universe and encouraged improvisation on set. Kasdan and Kennedy believed in adhering more tightly to the script and were concerned that the directors were deviating too far from the franchise’s “house style.” They preferred something that was more reverent, which they might get if Ron Howard or Joe Johnston, both rumored to be in the running for the gig, take over as director. That is from Variety
You sure like spamming responses, don’t you? I guess this seems ironic for me to say now, doesn’t it?
And yet the early reports indicate that Lucasfilm pushed back when they attempted to make Han Solo funnier and allowed the script to be improvised on the set. Thats from nerdist
” Lucasfilm pushed back when they attempted to make Han Solo funnier”
That’s not necessarily the same thing as improv. Improv would if Ehrenreich were encouraged to make up some of his own lines/actions.
Their films have never had perfect scripts, instead requiring quite a bit of improvisation and room for the actors to play. From what I’ve heard, the filmmakers clashed over the process since the earliest days of the production. Thats from Slashfilm
Their films have never had perfect scripts, instead requiring quite a bit of improvisation and room for the actors to play. From what I’ve heard, the filmmakers clashed over the process since the earliest days of the production. Thats from Slashfilm
“Their films have never had perfect scripts”
Well Kasdan wrote this one, so the situation has changed, hasn’t it?
im not saying that shouldn’t have been fired at all. I would take the stance that they should never have been hired in the first place
Lord and Miller (21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie) have a comedic sensibility and improvisational style while Kasdan favors a strict adherence to the written word. That one is from The Hollywood Reporter
Does anyone still believe that this thing is coming out in May of next year?
It always seemed to me that they’d been cutting it a lot closer than they needed to with the production schedules on these new SW films, and with the Solo film having gone far enough off of the rails that the directors needed to be fired with principle photography almost completed, I can’t see where this picture won’t need extensive reshoots over and above what were already planned if they’re going to undo whatever it was that L&M did that got them canned.
I think Ron Howard is a great choice to step in and get things back on track, but I can’t see him just leaving what L&M already filmed and slapping a band-aid on the thing. And that’s likely to require a good bit more shooting time than they had planned for.
I think they’ll be able to do it. Shooting starts back up very soon, and re-shoots were already planned out (of course, there will be more now that Lord & Miller are off the project). If Lord and Miller were fired with only three weeks left of shooting, that (to me) signals that there isn’t much to be “un-done”. It was never done in the first place, because the directors got fired over it.
If LucasFilm is smart, they will push this film back. Directors come and go, but this situation is very rare, as most of the shooting is practically finished.
And really, Howard, knowing him is going to need the time. He is a very good director, but he never struck me as the guy who does patchwork filmmaking. He is a perfectionist. Overall, there is no denying that Howard has his work cut out for him. Because, really; this film already was facing a lot of backlash(understandable) and changing directors midway hasn’t done it any favors.
I hope that the movie will be good and can overcome its setbacks.
Looks like Han Solo’s in a period of ‘Arrested Development’…. I’ll show myself out.
Happy Days !!
OK someone had to say it !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RlbYMVlq3k
To be honest, that’s exactly what this movie needs right now. Somebody with a solid work ethic and a broad directing background who can fix this. We don’t need another auteur.
This is a really good sign!
Good, I didn’t want any more hashtag humor in star wars.
This is good news. Given the choice, I would have taken Howard over Lord and Miller from the outset.
Old school director for an old school franchise.
Quoting screenwriter Scott Weinberg: “If your film can go from Lord & Miller to Ron Howard that tells me you don’t even know what tone you want.”
Sounds like a plan.
Faith in this film = RESTORED!
…barely
I think after the Trank and Solo situation,a close shave with R1,reshoots wise and IMO,a lackluster film in TFA, that LucasFilm should hire veteran Directors next time,see how that plays out. Somebody somewhere is making bad decisions.
“a lackluster film in TFA”
https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder841/500x/62773841/the-big-lebowski-yeah-well-thats-just-like-your-opinion-man.jpg
I think that was more than evident in his comment. Unless, you want him to literally say “In my opinion” which at that point is just being pedantic over syntax choice and not even semantics.
‘Twas a joke. While I disagree, I wouldn’t have put a .gif if I really cared.
Fair enough. I apologize for being a dick. 🙂
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/13l0v7BioaE/hqdefault.jpg
Insert my dead lifeless body. 🙂
6/10 nobody phuqs with the Jesus,whoooooooo *pelvic thrust*.
I can see your point. Edwards is one of my favorite directors, but I know that his style is polarizing. So when reshoots came I was nervous because I know that could have potentially conflicted with Edwards’ style. But in my view, that was hardly the case and actually enhanced the movie.
As for hiring veteran directors, I am totally down for it. But I do like seeing new directors as well. Big tentpoles are great for these characters as we often see new talent and is mutually beneficial for both: director gets exposure and studio makes money.
I don’t know about Ron Howard as the director of Han Solo, but I’m pretty sure I would have preferred his version of The Phantom Menace. And you know, I enjoyed Willow as a kid, so okay, I think I can see him doing justice to this movie. And I had forgotten about him working with The Man on American Graffiti, so at least the DVD extras should be interesting. I’m down. I take back all the mean s*** I said.
Totally forgot he directed Willow.Top film.
I’m off to the flea market to find the Willow VHS tape. I totally have to see it again. Got to get me some sweet, sweet Val Kilmer trilogy – Willow, Tombstone, and Batman Forever!
I really like the underrated David Mamet directed ‘Spartan’. Check that out if you haven’t seen it already.
Remove Batman Forever and add The Doors instead – way better trilogy 🙂
On second thought, to heck with Han Solo, we need a remake of this bad boy… https://youtu.be/uzn2izehkno
Yeahhh Boiiiiiiiiiii !!!!!!
Willow = Val Kilmer’s best performance.
He did that role so well.
It’s an improvement. Howard may be milquetoast safe, but at least he can make a solid film without resorting to dumb jokes, smartassed irony and post-modern pop culture nonsense.
Ron Howard is a good director. I am a big fan of the Cocoon and a Beautiful Mind. Da Vinci Code, not so much, but I prefer the book. Though, if I am to be honest; a lot of his more recent work has been hit or miss.
Still, I am going to be honest; I am not very confident in this situation. i know people say SWs has always had a history of production problems which is true. But really, context wise this is a film that supposedly has three weeks of shooting left. And really, Howard is going to need to pull a miracle. Because, most experience usually hate coming into someone else’s project, especially very late in the game.
Could Howard pull it off? Yeah. Do I think it will happen? Probably, not. But I do wish to be proven wrong, as RO’s reshoots scared me and that movie to me turned out great. But then again, this is a Han Solo movie and given me not being the biggest fan of him; I have no high expectations going forward.
Great, now give the Falcon a Rush touch!
Ron Howard knows how to finish a movie.
https://youtu.be/LGrWjXODzBQ
If you’re still not sold on the Han Solo movie….don’t worry.
Ron Howard can sell anything.
https://youtu.be/NVR2rzXTKlk
I’m still waiting on Ron to make the movie about the killer robot driving instructor who travels back in time for some reason but I guess this is fine too… In all seriousness it’s a fine, safe choice but I’m curious if they can make this look like one person’s vision instead of hodgepodge of scenes stitched together from different people like fan4stic.
I liked his films Ransom , Cinderella Man, Splash, Beautiful Mind, da Vinci code and Apollo 13.
Awesome News !! Yes, Yes, YES !!!
A safe pair of hands
UGH the guy who did ‘in the heart of the sea”? By the looks of imdb a mediocre roster. Willow was cool but that was like 30 years ago
Did you miss Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, (Best Dir. Oscar) Cinderella Man? He’s made some of the most memorable films of the last 30 years.
Clueless.
I like to watch movies; not sleep through them… Those films blow ass. overwrought
Maybe you should go watch the latest Michael Bay masterpiece of explosions and giant cartoon robots. That would probably keep your interest.
He’s even worse than Howard.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f8123b37d76ff99305d057f55a93d4d81056980c40addca8f1832cac0756614d.png
Did anyone else notice Collider Jedi Council said the exact same thing today? (except Perri nemerof). His movies are boring… a film doesn’t have to have action to be exciting. Dialogue can be fun as long as the director doesn’t suck.
Aww, sorry there were no explosions and men in tights there for you.
Help us Opie Wan, your our only hope.
I’m warming to the idea. The director of Willow, doing a Star Wars film, is starting to feel like a really good choice.
Probably the biggest name director in the series considering none of the others have Oscars.
Wonder if he will get his Daughter in it?
This will be interesting
He was a great director but it has been awhile since he has put out quality work(outside of Rush, which I loved, the last really good film was 12 years ago). And the quality work he did put out that people mention like Cinderella Man, Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 are hardly close to the type of film Han Solo will most likely end up being. Ultimately, I feel its a good choice for the situation and a director with good experience with the genre is not necessarily needed, but not without some concern.