UPDATE! RUMOR: Ron Howard To Replace Lord & Miller On Han Solo?

Alright, so it’s safe to say that people are pretty freaked out about the fiasco with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller leaving Han Solo at the tail end of production. But the good news is that there may be a capable director waiting in the wings to take over – Ron Howard – along with a second potential back-up director who is already involved with the movie.

 

From Deadline:

Deadline hears that Ron Howard has emerged as front runner to replace Phil Lord & Christopher Miller on the untitled Han Solo Star Wars spinoff film. Disney dropped a shocker this afternoon with the announcement that the duo exited a picture that has been in production since February at London’s Pinewood Studios. This after an inability to recover from creative rifts with LucasFilm chief Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. Latter has been mentioned as possible to step in, but I’m putting my money on Howard.

In Howard, Disney’s getting a pro who can step right in and keep the picture on track for May, 2018 release. Howard has been busy as ever… but I am hearing that he might well step right in here and keep the film on track.

As mentioned above, if Howard turns the offer down, then Lawrence Kasdan could take over directing. But if Howard gets the job, then he’ll be the first Academy Award-winning director to handle a Star Wars project, which ought to count for something.

 

UPDATE!

 

The Hollywood Reporter added a little more information to this situation, including another potential name for an emergency director to take over the project: Joe Johnston.

Ron Howard is one of the names that has emerged, according to sources. Joe Johnston, who directed The Rocketeer and Jumanji, has been mentioned as another possible candidate. Others suggest that Kasdan, who has directed movies like ‪The Big Chill and Silverado, could step in as he is already in prime position to know what needs to be fixed. Although that move could be complicated by DGA rules preventing someone already working on a film taking over for a director that is being replaced except for a short-term emergency.

I’ve personally been pulling for Johnston to get behind the wheels of a Star Wars movie, but at this point I’d much rather he handle the planned movie with bounty hunters (assuming that’s still on the cards). But still, I believe that he’s a strong enough director to handle the project if push comes to shove.

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

145 thoughts on “UPDATE! RUMOR: Ron Howard To Replace Lord & Miller On Han Solo?

  • June 21, 2017 at 6:19 am
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    Ron Howard would do a great job, and so would Kasdan. I have faith in Kathleen Kennedy!

  • June 21, 2017 at 6:27 am
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    I know Ron Howard best for directing Apollo 13, so… I’d say he’s an interesting choice, but he’s definitely more than capable.

    • June 21, 2017 at 7:21 am
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      Unfortunately, Howard also directed How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the three Dan Brown movies.

      • June 21, 2017 at 7:44 am
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        Hey!!! Don’t talk bad about the grinch.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:05 am
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        And the heart of the sea movie.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:25 pm
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        And Willow

  • June 21, 2017 at 6:33 am
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    Ron Howard?! NOOOOOooooooooooooooo (said in Ep3 Vader voice)

  • June 21, 2017 at 6:47 am
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    Howard would be a great choice! If this story is true, I may not lose all hope in this film.

    Maybe.

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:15 am
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    Is that oppi?

    • June 21, 2017 at 7:51 am
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      Opie.

      • June 21, 2017 at 12:37 pm
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        Thanks Mrs. Lamen.

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:19 am
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    Howards a great director but i doubt hed ever accept such a gig. He isnt one to bend to studio wishes. he wants to make his movie his way because we all know theyre great. hed be pigeon holed. f that.. Kasdan wrote Empire which was the best SW film hands down. BUT that was 30 years ago. his directing titles arent all that great. Johnston has a few great titles under his belt, CA first Avenger was fantastic. if anything it will end up being Johnston.. but what do you do with a movie thats half shit by other directors with different visions??? do you start from scrath or try to make their work fit? its like picasso finishing a van gogh painting. it doesnt seem like its going to be any good

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:21 am
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    Ron Howard is a really intriguing possibility. He’s a seasoned director who has helmed successful movies of many different kinds. Maybe he could bring something new and interesting to Star Wars. I would imagine that a really seasoned veteran would be an ideal choice in this f*&#ed-up situation: someone who has so much experience that they’d have a good shot at putting out this insane dumpster fire of a production and making something decent out of it.

    However, any director has got to be pretty wary of jumping into this situation. The risk of disaster is high, as is the risk of creating bad blood with Lord and Miller.

    What a nightmare!

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:35 am
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    Can’t wait for more behind the scenes reports to come in. Kennedy is probably about to have shit all over her face. No idea why she wants so much creative control as most sites are reporting now.

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:41 am
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    There were a number of quotes stating how wonderful the screenplay was, but this feeling wasn’t shared by the directors who had to make it work. Oh.

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:54 am
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    Ron Howards films have a quality I don’t like. I loved his earlier stuff, but his most recent movies are stiff and predictable. Joe Johnson would worry me too. He’s good in parts, but his films are usually uneven. I loved the ferocity of the werewolf in Wolf Man though, I quite like that one.
    Lawrence Kasdan hasn’t directed in a while, but I like his movies. I’d be happiest with him out of those three.

    • June 21, 2017 at 12:23 pm
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      ” stiff and predictable”: maybe that’s what KK needs now? Secure the project? I don’t think she’s looking for bolt creativeness after this.

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:56 am
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    I think peter Jackson would kick ass in a Star Wars anthology movie.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:04 am
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      If they can keep his stuff edited to a nice 2 hours.

      • June 23, 2017 at 2:21 am
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        3 hours of stormtroopers and rebel armies fighting lol

      • June 23, 2017 at 2:21 am
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        3 hours of stormtroopers and rebel armies fighting lol

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:22 am
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      ILM and WETA are the biggest competitors in the effects industry, pigs will fly when this ever happens lol

      • June 21, 2017 at 2:58 pm
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        Who’s saying that Jackson is inexorably tied to using WETA?

      • June 23, 2017 at 2:22 am
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        Yea. I like his level of detail

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:56 am
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    John carpenter lol

  • June 21, 2017 at 8:04 am
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    Please, I hope not for both candidates.

  • June 21, 2017 at 9:49 am
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    Joe Johnston!!

    • June 21, 2017 at 4:57 pm
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      Nope.

  • June 21, 2017 at 10:58 am
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    Jay Roach would be a good fit

  • June 21, 2017 at 11:17 am
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    I would like to see a Kasdan directed film. No doubt that he’s one of the people that worked most on star wars films, and this is his last project as an author. Why shouldn’t he be hiven the possibility to also direct it.

    • June 21, 2017 at 3:11 pm
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      looks the same to me.

      • June 21, 2017 at 3:14 pm
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        That’s great.

      • June 21, 2017 at 7:30 pm
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        con·trar·i·an
        kənˈtre(ə)rēən/Submit
        noun
        1.
        a person who opposes or rejects popular opinion, especially in stock exchange dealing.
        adjective
        1.
        opposing or rejecting popular opinion; going against current practice.
        “the comment came more from a contrarian disposition than moral conviction”

        • June 21, 2017 at 9:16 pm
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          That’s true.

          SEE WHAT I DID THERE?

  • June 21, 2017 at 12:24 pm
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    Can’t wait to see the making of of this movie.

    • June 21, 2017 at 5:41 pm
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      I imagine that they’ll candy coat the situation.

      • June 21, 2017 at 6:54 pm
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        Yeah me too, but even that can be interesting…

      • June 22, 2017 at 6:39 pm
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        With the three of them fighting for the mic like “noo that was my idea!”

  • June 21, 2017 at 1:15 pm
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    How about M.Night Shyamalan, Michael Bay, Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan. Nolan’s inception and The Dark Knight. Was awesome

    • June 21, 2017 at 2:11 pm
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      Did you really just say Bay lol. Nolan would never jump on a project mess like this. Tarantino hates Disney. M.Night has had one good film in the past 10 films he has attempted so no to all the above.

      • June 22, 2017 at 2:41 am
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        His recent film Split is good. It’s getting good reviews . Also unbreakable, the Sith sense and Signs. With Bay you are guaranteed £billions. Independence Day, Armageddon, Transformers. Disney would jump at the chance if he was interested

        • June 22, 2017 at 6:44 pm
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          No they would not lol.

    • June 21, 2017 at 2:18 pm
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      Throw in Tommy Wiseau with Shammalammadingdong and Bay and you’ve got some real winners, there…

    • June 21, 2017 at 7:21 pm
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      none of these, please

  • June 21, 2017 at 1:33 pm
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    Kathleen Kennedy has proven that she understands Star Wars and that she’ll do whatever’s necessary to correct course on a film that’s not working. I’m not freaked out at all by Lord and Miller’s departure. I’d be concerned if Lawrence Kasdan left the project.

    • June 21, 2017 at 2:09 pm
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      She didn’t realize these things a year ago or damn I do not know maybe before they have been shooting for several months. Sounds to me like a suit wants to much creative control.

      • June 21, 2017 at 4:50 pm
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        “Creative differences” is about as revealing as claiming irreconcilable differences in a divorce proceeding. We don’t yet know what happened. Certainly Kennedy hired Lord and Miller to bring something to the movie but it’s not their movie. It belongs to Lawrence Kasdan, who’s been thinking about this character for decades, and Lucasfilm who have done an amazing job revitalizing Star Wars over the last five years. If a director isn’t delivering what the screenwriter and the production company want then they need to go. If Gareth Edwards hadn’t gone along with the reshoot on Rogue One he’d have been out the door as well. I guess the people objecting to this move would prefer that Lucasfilm do nothing when they have a movie that isn’t working and that the most successful producer in Hollywood bend over to appease the directors of a Lego movie and Jonah Hill comedy.

        • June 21, 2017 at 5:59 pm
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          If they did not want to work with directors of a Lego movie and Jonah Hill company they shouldn’t have hired them. Also creative differences should have been sorted months (years)ago not three weeks before principal photography is to be finished. This makes Kathy Kennedy look incompetent. Makes me believe there is a whole lot more going on here than they are letting on. Because if it just because Lord/Miller wanted to make a comedy film they would have known that a while ago.

          • June 21, 2017 at 7:09 pm
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            Obviously, there’s more going on. They hired Lord and Miller because they had something to bring to the table. That doesn’t mean they have carte blanche to do whatever they want or that Lucasfilm is stuck with the work they turn in if it’s not satisfactory.

            Most studios would have to live with whatever the directors shot. Thankfully, Lucasfilm has the resources to move in a different direction when a director drops the ball.

            What part of Kathleen Kennedy’s massively successful career makes you think she might be incompetent? Given her track record, isn’t it far more likely that she is making the difficult decisions to do what is right for the movie? Especially considering Larry Kasdan’s reported displeasure with Lord and Miller’s take on his script. Also, how would you know at what point they should have parted ways? You don’t know what the problem is?

          • June 21, 2017 at 8:19 pm
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            Successful people make bad calls all the time. Right now they have said “creative differences “as the reason for the split. So that is the kind of thing a head of a company should already be aware well before the last three weeks of shooting.

          • June 21, 2017 at 9:25 pm
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            How in the world would you have any clue at what point the directors should have been fired? Have you produced a major motion picture? Do you know whether Lord and Miller were delivering on what they agreed to? Did Kathleen bend over backwards to adapt to the movie that L&M were shooting? Did the first two months go smoothly before progressively getting worse? Do you know if they’re over budget or if the timeline is too tight to reshoot major portions of the movie?

            People are forgetting that these directors are there to make someone else’s movie and bring some of their own flavor to the project. How would anyone outside of Lucasfilm know when or if the plug should be pulled on anyone involved in production?

            I thought Lord and Miller were an interesting choice but I’m not seeing the dailies and I didn’t write the script so I’m going to trust that the people that gave us Rogue One and The Force Awakens are making the right decisions until they prove they can’t make the right decisions.

          • June 21, 2017 at 10:19 pm
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            I do know what happened if you had actually learned to read you would have gathered that from my comment. I am going solely off of confirmed info which is they split for creative differences. So only knowing this info ,that would seem to be something that would be readily apparent between all parties a year ago.

          • June 21, 2017 at 10:54 pm
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            Whoa, whoa getting personal! I insist you leave my illiteracy out of this. When did the creative differences arise? Why do you assume that everyone wasn’t on the same page a year ago? How do you know Lord and Miller didn’t show up on set and start diverging from the plan? You don’t know? Me either but it seems unlikely that there was a major show stopping issue prior to Lord and Miller showing up on set.

          • June 21, 2017 at 7:20 pm
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            Annie Hall is a comedy. Freddy Got Fingered is also a comedy. So saying “they wanted a comedy” does not mean they were open to anything. Besides, I don’t think they were going for “a comedy”; I think they wanted more lighthearted movie with wit. The script doesn’t seem to be the problem, so who knows what’s going on.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:15 pm
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        Which is the way it has always been in Hollywood.

    • June 21, 2017 at 3:11 pm
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      Why hasn’t she corrected course on TLJ then, which clearly is not working according to Mark Hamill himself ? On the other hand, I doubt an Academy-award winner like Ron Howard would accept directing a movie knowing that his “creative vision” would be subject to constant vetting by Kathleen Kennedy. After all, isn’t that why Miller and Lord quit (and they both lack Howard’s gravitas) ?

      • June 21, 2017 at 4:33 pm
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        Mark Hamill is awesome, and his opinion should be considered but how does his differing vision for the character indicate the TLJ is not working? He’s never written, produced or directed a movie ( Comic Book: The Movie does NOT count). On the other hand, Kathleen Kennedy, handpicked by George Lucas to run Lucasfilm, is the most successful producer in history, her two Star Wars movies are critical successes that have grossed over $3 billion and Rian Johnson is an award winning screenwriter and director. Their story is probably working. Even if it’s not the story Mark Hamill has in his head.

        • June 21, 2017 at 8:40 pm
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          People freaked out way too much over Hamill’s comments. He was just saying that he didn’t envision “old Luke” the same way that Johnson did. I don’t think any two people’s vision of “old Luke” are the same.

      • June 21, 2017 at 6:23 pm
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        Mark Hamill never said TLJ was not working. He said that he fundamentally disagreed with Rian Johnson’s direction for Luke’s character in his script. The fact that he signed on for the film proves that his initial doubts were unfounded and he has been full of praise for Johnson’s work in subsequent interviews. Also keep in mind that, before production began on ROTJ, Hamill was begging George Lucas to allow him to sport a green Mohawk and a pierced ear, so, maybe not the best guy to listen to about what should and should not go in your movie. P.S. Sorry Mark, love you to bits.

        • June 21, 2017 at 7:26 pm
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          he also said that Luke should go to the dark side, which fundamentally disagrees with MY direction for the Luke character. As much as I respect Mark Hamill, he’s an actor, not a filmmaker.

  • June 21, 2017 at 1:50 pm
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    Ron Howard and Joe Johnston are both interesting choices. Don’t forget, Johnston is tied to Star Wars all the way back to the beginning. Something something Boba Fett design.

    Holy crap, throw in Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis and the ’80’s nostalgia will be complete.

    • June 21, 2017 at 4:57 pm
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      Johnston designing Boba Fett makes him qualified to direct a SW movie?

      • June 21, 2017 at 5:36 pm
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        No. I tried to illustrate he’s involved in SW for a long time. If Kennedy is concerned about a certain “feel” of the film and it’s characters, than I understand him being one of the contenders.

  • June 21, 2017 at 2:55 pm
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    Ron Howard is great. But for this? I don’t know. I’m guessing this movie is really cheeky. I don’t see Ron Howard melding with that.

    • June 21, 2017 at 3:10 pm
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      Howard is very diverse.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:38 pm
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        He’s more diverse than a gay bar in Morocco.

        • June 21, 2017 at 9:15 pm
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          In the types of movies he has made and all the genres? Yes.

    • June 21, 2017 at 4:56 pm
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      And Ron Howard as an EP on Arrested Development wasn’t an example of him melding with cheeky?

    • June 21, 2017 at 6:50 pm
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      Maybe “cheeky” was the problem.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:30 pm
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      Great? What has Ron done that’s great?

      • June 21, 2017 at 11:22 pm
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        Splash; Apollo 13; A Beautiful Mind; Cocoon; Backdraft; Willow; etc.

    • June 22, 2017 at 11:06 pm
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      it’s an adventure movie the Solo story, so RH could be suited for this since he worked on both cmedy dramatic and documentary.

  • June 21, 2017 at 3:58 pm
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    The Han Solo Movie …with special guest star, “The Fonz”.

    • June 21, 2017 at 6:50 pm
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      Maybe Han Solo will jump a Raptar on water skis!

  • June 21, 2017 at 4:44 pm
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    I think the problem here is that Kathleen Kennedy has been a bit too infatuated with considering young auteur directors to direct these movies. (Perhaps the reason why is because Lucas was an auteur back when he directed ANH. So Kennedy has an emotional attachment to nurturing this tradition.)

    But clearly this is not the way to go now with the Star Wars franchise. Like the MCU, it requires a consistent “voice” throughout these movies. Frankly speaking, everyone, this is a franchise brand meant to sell a product to the masses. The general public (and Disney) do not care to watch these as personal directorial “visions”.

    TV directors tend not to be auteurs. In TV, it’s the producers and writers who are in charge, creatively speaking. I think the Russo brothers work well with Kevin Feige because the MCU is basically run like a TV series. They direct what’s written and bring the production in on time, with little creative angst nor desire to inject their voice into the picture. The director of Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins, also cut her skills in directing TV (Breaking Bad). Rian Johnson also happened to direct some TV (Breaking Bad, as well).

    So for the third Star Wars Story, I think Kennedy needs to consider up-and-coming TV series directors.

    To be honest, this does make me wonder how secure Trevorrow’s standing is at this point. And I generally liked this guy’s work prior to Jurassic World.

    • June 21, 2017 at 6:59 pm
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      “So Kennedy has an emotional attachment to nurturing this tradition.”

      Emotional attachment? Maybe she just thinks that could be an interesting/creative/successful strategy to pursue?

      • June 21, 2017 at 7:18 pm
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        But clearly, this hasn’t quite been the case.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:07 pm
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      Interesting that L&M both wrote the screenplay and directed The Lego Movie. But with the Solo movie, they were directing Kasdan’s screenplay. Kasdan is Star Wars royalty, no question about it, and KK will surely honor his opinion with any creative difference. Plus she’s proven a strong and hands-on influence during SW filming. L&M probably had little chance to do their own thing here, although it appears that they tried.
      So to your point, KK may like the idea of bringing in a young visionary director, but in reality doesn’t want them to veer too far off the course of a traditional SW movie.
      But I’m still shocked it came to this, and so late.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:37 pm
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      The saga films certainly need a certain tone, but the stand-alone don’t and shouldn’t need to be restricted in such a way, IMO. The real problem here, IMO, is the subject matter of the movie. It’s Han Solo. He’s a very well established character both in the movies and in other media. I think auteurs are a great choice for standalones, just not this one.

  • June 21, 2017 at 4:55 pm
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    Well, at least Lucas would be happy with Howard directing…

  • June 21, 2017 at 4:58 pm
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    Johnston is a mediocre director. NOPE.

  • June 21, 2017 at 5:31 pm
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    I’m all for it. Although, most of the film will need to be re-shot, no? Otherwise we’ll end up with 2 totally different styles of movie in one! Plus, since Lucasfilm doesn’t seem to like anything about Lord and Miller, they must really not like anything they’ve filmed so far. What a mess…..

    • June 21, 2017 at 7:17 pm
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      They’ll just do some reshoots to blend the footage together. nothing too extensive unless they feel that they really need to.

    • June 21, 2017 at 7:20 pm
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      Whoever steps in as director might lean on the cinematographer in terms of maintaining stylistic continuity. That is, of course, assuming the DP remains the same.

  • June 21, 2017 at 5:34 pm
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    So who will get the “Director” credit at the end then? A whole list of people?

    • June 21, 2017 at 6:28 pm
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      It will be interesting to see how the Director’s Guild sorts this out.

    • June 21, 2017 at 9:15 pm
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      IMDB no longer list Lord and Miller on this project.

      • June 22, 2017 at 4:39 am
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        That’s it..it’s official.

    • June 22, 2017 at 6:28 am
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      I’ve been wondering the same thing.

  • June 21, 2017 at 5:34 pm
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    Just get James Gunn.

  • June 21, 2017 at 6:18 pm
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    This smells like a dumpster fire in the making. Put Dave Feloni on it – he’s been cleaning up Lucas’ prequel issues for the last ten years and somehow manged to turn Darth Maul into the second most interesting character in the Universe. Kasdan can mentor him if he needs live action training wheels.

    • June 21, 2017 at 6:47 pm
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      Your Darth Maul example doesn’t really apply here, because the story and script don’t seem to be the problem. This is a situation where you bring in an experienced director, not someone with promise.

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:24 pm
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    https://www.newsarama.com/35030-report-how-why-when-star-wars-han-solo-directors-were-ousted.html

    The above website reports that the main problem was Solo’s characterization: comedic (Lord & Miller) VS. sarcastic and selfish (which is more in line with what we see of Han in Episode IV, and would be what Kasdan and Lucasfilm were gunning for).

    I don’t know how much water this rumor holds, but if true, I think this eases my nerves a bit. It would prove that Lucasfilm still understand and care about the development of Han’s character from an abrasive asshole to a family man (rather than having him be Starlord 2.0). Considering that Lord and Miller are comedy directors, they probably wanted to go too comedic with Han as a character, and that just didn’t line up with canon and with Lucasfilm’s vision for what a young, stupid version of the character would be like. This would also make it relatively easy for a new director to come in and re-shoot some key scenes to shift Han’s characterization, where as a lot of Rogue One’s extensive re-shoots were because of clunky story problems in addition to the character problems. This movie might not be trainwreck after all.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:20 pm
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      This report only leaves me further concerned — not just about this film, but Lucasfilm under Kennedy.

      Shouldn’t contradictory ideas on how to portray a young Han Solo have been discovered when Lord and Miller were being interviewed? Or in pre-production? Or early on when the dailies started rolling in? Why did it take so long for Kennedy to decide this was a real issue?

      Kennedy’s now fired Trank (who never should’ve been hired in the first place), fired Lord and Miller, and probably would’ve fired Edwards, too, if he didn’t fold like a lawn chair, allowing someone else to finish “his” film.

      I’m deeply concerned. And I’m guessing the head honchos at Disney are, too.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:36 pm
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        “Shouldn’t contradictory ideas on how to portray a young Han Solo have been discovered when Lord and Miller were being interviewed? Or in pre-production? Or early on when the dailies started rolling in? Why did it take so long for Kennedy to decide this was a real issue?”

        My guess is that Lord and Miller promised to play ball with Lucasfilm during the meetings and then changed their minds during shooting. Directors are people, and sometimes people can just be unpredictable. As for Trank, there was no way for them to know that he was a complete lunatic before the Fant4stic debacle happened. Until then, everyone still thought he was the promising director from Chronicle.

        • June 21, 2017 at 8:57 pm
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          Lucasfilm continues to claim that they’re giving their directors creative freedom to tell their stories. Clearly they’re not.

          Let’s say Lord and Miller went rogue, creating something completely different than what they originally promised — this would’ve been discovered early in principal photography, not after 75%-ish of the film was in the can.

          As for Trank, you’re right — there was no way to know he was crazy. But that’s mostly because he was an unknown; a director with exactly one low-budget film under his belt. Why risk hiring such an inexperienced director?

          • June 22, 2017 at 7:12 am
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            rian johnson claimed on twitter today that he had total control on TLJ and the TFA def felt like a JJ film so idk. some wires def got crossed on this one for sure.

    • June 22, 2017 at 10:53 pm
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      if rumor is true then it’s a good thing Miller/Lord to be out of the movie. i was afraid of a comedic type annoying ado like Indy 4, Transformers or Power Rangers (yeah i ve seen it but i skpidded forward 3/4 of the movie)

  • June 21, 2017 at 7:50 pm
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    Yeah, bring Joe Johnston back into the Star Wars family. He helped define Star Wars in the old days.
    Also Ron Howard is a great director.

  • June 21, 2017 at 8:04 pm
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    I just hope that after all these shake ups that this movie is at least as good as Fantastic Four.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:33 pm
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      That is about the lowest bar one could possibly give a feature film. I hope it’s better than that as well.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:36 pm
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        You can see that my expectations for this movie are verrry low. And with this latest bit of news they have dropped off the chart.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:36 pm
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      now, that’s funny!

    • June 22, 2017 at 6:02 am
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      Upvoted for not typing it ‘Fant4astic.’

  • June 21, 2017 at 8:29 pm
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    Ugh. Lord and miller? Good riddance. Ron Howard. No. Joe? No.

    So much mediocrity.

    Good god can’t they aim higher on such a big movie??

    Get out the cheque book. Call fincher. Call del toro. Call a real artist who can bring some vision.

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:37 pm
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      Fincher and Del Toro would probably want too much creative control than a Star Wars production could provide.

      • June 21, 2017 at 9:39 pm
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        It’s also not an easy thing to ask them to stay away from characters they probably want to play with. They literally have to sell a film that involves completely new characters, in a completely foreign spot in the GFFA timeline.

        Let’s be real, if they made Guardians of the Galaxy type film, SW fans would riot. And Guardians is the only space-opera-like film that has been successful (Flash Gordon…lol, Dune…yawn, John Carter…almost killed Disney, Chronicles of Ridickulous..)

    • June 21, 2017 at 8:39 pm
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      I think bringing some vision is exactly what got Lord and Miller fired to begin with.

      • June 21, 2017 at 8:43 pm
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        I doubt that. Edwards had a vision of a Star Wars movie where everyone dies. I doubt Lord and Miller could have suggested anything more radical and “visionary” than that.

        • June 21, 2017 at 8:44 pm
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          Well clearly their vision of what they wanted the movie to be clashed with what KK wanted it to be. I am not saying they did anything radical, it’s that their visions clearly clashed greatly.

  • June 21, 2017 at 8:32 pm
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    Only if the Fonz makes a guest star. The Millennium Falcon won’t start up, the Fonz comes over and hits it with his hand and boom starts up and our heros escape. Alden looks at the camera give the thumbs up and says AAAAAAAAAA!

  • June 21, 2017 at 9:30 pm
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    Of that line up? Ugh. I guess Johnston? Howard is insipid, and Kasdan has directed a series of turds. Brad Bird? Probably wouldn’t step in to rescue a film though.

    • June 21, 2017 at 11:18 pm
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      And Johnson does have preexisting relationship with Disney so it def wouldn’t surprise me.

      • June 22, 2017 at 4:00 pm
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        If it is him I REALLY hope he gives us Captain America quality and not Jurassic Park 3.

        • June 22, 2017 at 7:10 pm
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          to be fair, not even spielberg and michael crichton could make a good jurrasic park sequel.

          • June 22, 2017 at 7:28 pm
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            I actually enjoyed The Lost World.

  • June 21, 2017 at 10:32 pm
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    At this point Uwe Boll might as well direct the movie

    • June 22, 2017 at 12:02 am
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      Roger Corman is still alive…

  • June 21, 2017 at 11:17 pm
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    Personally I’d prefer Ron Howard to direct a SW film from scratch but I understand why they’d reach out to him in their hour of desperation. My money would be on kasdan finishing things himself. It’s his script and he has some xp so why not.

    • June 22, 2017 at 5:21 am
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      As hinted at in one of the updates above, Kasdan can’t. The “Eastwood rule” from the Directors guild of America (google it) prevents someone already working on a film from taking over as director except INA short term emergency. Kasdan is a writer and probably a producer already. The only way it could have worked is if Kasdan was coming in to fix a small percentage of the film that wouldn’t earn him a “director” credit (ala Joss Whedon, who is only changing or fixing a small part of Justice League. Snyder will be getting that credit,) Most likely, enough of the film will be reshot or changed that the new director will be getting a “director” credit. They have to hire externally.

      • June 22, 2017 at 5:28 am
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        interesting i’d never heard of that before. though according to wikipedia the rule is: “known as ‘the Eastwood Rule’, which prohibits an actor or producer from
        firing the director and then becoming the director himself”. which if accurate means that kasdan could still direct as kennedy was the one who fired lord and miller(and had the main beef with them).

        • June 22, 2017 at 6:52 am
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          How can an actor fire a director? I guess only if the actor was also the main producer (probably not very common). I can understand how an actor can GET a director fired by complaining to the producer(s), but it seems like it would be extremely uncommon for an actor to personally fire a director. That’s like me firing my boss.

          • June 22, 2017 at 7:14 am
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            yeah it have to be someone like tom cruise who also produces the projects. i guess the directors guild hated what eastwood did that much.

          • June 22, 2017 at 9:00 am
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            Doesn’t have to be the main producer or even the producer that did the firing, ANY producer or executive producer on the film (which Kasdan is an EP) is prohibited from this rule. So yeah like technically it could happen, but you’re right the chances of a non-producing actor taking over a film is slim-to-none. Most of the time it would be a producer-actor, like an Eastwood or potentially an Affleck or Tom Cruise on the Mummy etc etc

        • June 22, 2017 at 8:58 am
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          No, it doesn’t just prohibit the producer who did the firing, it prevents any producer or actor involved in the project. Lawrence Kasdan is an Executive Producer on the film (IMDB backs this up), and once the producer title is taken, you can’t just give up one title to take another. That would also break the rule.

  • June 21, 2017 at 11:43 pm
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    I always wanted to see a big action/adventure movie directed by more auteurish filmmakers like the Coens or Terence Malick.

    But I suppose they’d be hesitant without full creative control.

    • June 21, 2017 at 11:59 pm
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      Terrence Malick? Well, since his style is so much like Kubrick’s, I would imagine it would be like 2001: A Space Odyssey. A somewhat polarizing film I think. One that I like – but it puts others to sleep. These type of filmmakers require some patience from the viewer.

      The Cohen’s? Their stuff is all over the map. Who knows what that would look like?

    • June 22, 2017 at 1:00 am
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      Terence Malick would film a flower for 30 minutes and then the next scene would be more silence and maybe some dialogue and then a tree, eventually a ship and some people.

      • June 22, 2017 at 4:20 am
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        You left out the artsy voice over!!

    • June 22, 2017 at 1:26 am
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      I was confused by your comment until I realized I had misread ‘auteurish’ as ‘amateurish.’

  • June 22, 2017 at 3:00 am
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    Just

  • June 22, 2017 at 4:30 am
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    This is so weird. So, are they almost done with production? Or, do they have a bit to go. It seems if they are almost done, then I would guess we are going to have a ton of reshoots if people aren’t happy with the direction the movie has taken. It’s weird.

  • June 22, 2017 at 4:46 am
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    Picture this..explosions everywhere..slave Leia outfits for a lot of Victoria secret models who are in full Twi’lek makeup..Han and Chewie? Please let’s try Han and Bumblebee..and a lot of new sleek spacecrafts sponsored by chevy..Michael Bay’s Han Solo..I say we do it.

  • June 22, 2017 at 7:13 am
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    Past his prime but he’s still one of the best working today and the fact that he is close with Lucas is a plus too.

  • June 22, 2017 at 11:00 pm
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    Good i think we cabn expect more than an average movie with the guy who made mythic films like Willow apollo 13 and cocoon. Am i the only oone wjo is pleased by the new ?

  • June 23, 2017 at 12:07 am
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    Maybe they should have Joe Johnston and Ron direct as a team – kind of like Lord and Miller

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