Scheduling Conflicts Cause Michael Kenneth Williams to be Cut from Han Solo Film

Sometimes scheduling issues can alter the trajectory of a film, and as we have known for a few months now, that was the case with the upcoming Han Solo film once Ron Howard was called in to take over. Things have quieted down a bit, and production has taken on a much more positive media spin under Howard, but unfortunately due to the additional shoots and reshoots, Michael Kenneth Williams is unavailable and now it appears he needs to be cut from the film.

 

 

According to Deadline, due to scheduling conflicts filming the drama The Red Sea Diving Report, Williams is unavailable for these additional shoots forcing the hand of Lucasfilm to cut him from the film completely. Williams’ comments:

 

I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with,” said Williams, who was cast in the Han Solo origin story by original helming duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who exited in June. “It is what it is.”

 

Williams seems to make it clear he liked the work he did with original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Once Ron Howard took over, the additional filming/reshoots included Williams’ character, and as he goes on, it was impossible for him to be there during this time, in which filming was initially supposed to be finished:

 

…that would have required me on a plane a month ago to London, to Pinewood, to do reshoots. But I’m here, on location in Africa. It’s scheduling. I’m not going to be back on the market until the end of November after [his SundanceTV series] Hap and Leonard, and for them to wait that long for me, that would have pushed back the release date, which I believe is in May 2018.

 

 

Williams revealed to Deadline that his character was half-human, half-animal, with other sources claiming he was supposed to be some sort of villain, which certainly sounds unique and interesting. It is unclear whether the character is being completely or partially cut out of the film, or if there is any potential recasting for reshoots. All reports seem to only indicate that the actor himself has been cut due to the scheduling issues. Although he is being cut, it doesn’t sound as though there is any animosity between the actor and Lucasfilm, as Williams goes on to say he’d love to enter the franchise again down the road:

 

“I don’t think that me not being in the Star Wars family is final,” Williams said. “I left with a very good taste in my mouth about the whole family, and I hope that I left a good taste in their mouth. They’re a great group of people, the Lucas family.”

 

It doesn’t appear that the Han Solo film is waiting around for anyone, which further makes us believe it is staying on track for a May 2018 release. Although Michael Kenneth Williams will no longer be appearing in the upcoming Han Solo film, we hope we see him in a galaxy far, far away somewhere down the line.

 

 

“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”

@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

"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

John Hoey

John Hoey is the Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net and the host of The Resistance Broadcast podcast"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

54 thoughts on “Scheduling Conflicts Cause Michael Kenneth Williams to be Cut from Han Solo Film

  • August 23, 2017 at 3:03 am
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    Sad. Oh well, we were all young once.

    • August 23, 2017 at 10:38 am
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      Yoda doesn’t double-conjugate, dumbass

      • August 23, 2017 at 2:33 pm
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        Granted, he doesn’t use it as often as people make out when imitating him, but the meme is valid…

        Meme: Dodged (preterite verb) a bullet (object), you did (preterite verb)….

        Yoda to Obi-Wan (TESB): Told (preterite verb) you (object) I did (preterite verb)….

        • August 23, 2017 at 3:01 pm
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          I like how the mod skipped past the “dumbass” part, but corrected on Yoda grammar haha

          • August 23, 2017 at 3:08 pm
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            Lando-smooth

          • August 23, 2017 at 4:53 pm
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            Hard Case, soft mod

        • August 23, 2017 at 4:35 pm
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          Would “Dodged a bullet, you have” work any better?

  • August 23, 2017 at 12:38 pm
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    A pity, but then again sounds like he would either have been hidden under layers of prosthetics, or mo-capping a creature – I’d rather see Williams unmasked, and perhaps play an uncoventional, gritty hero in a STAR WARS film ( or perhaps even a new iteration of Han’s enemy Sergei X-Arrogantus ).

  • August 23, 2017 at 1:55 pm
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    Am I the only one who isn’t looking forward to this movie? It’s probably got something to do with AE playing Han Solo, I dunno … so far it looks and sounds like an expensive disaster to me.

    • August 23, 2017 at 2:07 pm
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      You are far from the only one. The more shocking revelation would be saying you are looking forward to this movie.

    • August 23, 2017 at 3:32 pm
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      I’m very excited for the film and i just want it to be good, this must be a real bummer for the actor though.

    • August 23, 2017 at 4:25 pm
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      I agree – just cause we’ve already seen the movie. It’s called Episode IV: A New Hope. He was young, we saw his perfect character arc from smuggler outlaw to respected human being, hero and saviour of the galaxy. I just don’t see what else could be brought to his character development that would be interesting.

      • August 23, 2017 at 5:37 pm
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        Exactly. If Han ends up being the hero in this story then it completely invalidates Han in ANH.

        • August 23, 2017 at 5:56 pm
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          Yeah, ’cause Chewbacca only has a life-debt to Han because he’s a giant piece of shit only to be redeemed in the OT.

          • August 23, 2017 at 6:29 pm
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            See that isn’t what I said, Han clearly has some heroic traits in him but if this movie he is constantly fighting the empire or doing the right thing its completely inconsistent with who we found in the OT.

          • August 23, 2017 at 6:56 pm
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            The Imperials are kind of his natural enemy, in a way. He got into trouble with Jabba because Imperials boarded his ship and he had to jettison his cargo. I assume they try to deter a lot of his activities.

            He could very easily fight the Imperials with different motives in mind. If this is a heist movie (I kind of hope it isn’t), for instance, maybe he wants to steal something from the Imperials. Or steal something that the Imperials are guarding. That isn’t exactly “doing the right thing” but is still extremely plausible for the character we saw in the the OT, and would still open the doors for him to be fighting Imperials.

            And, if he sees Chewie doing his slave thing, he’ll almost certainly save him, intentionally or otherwise.

            I doubt they’ll portray him as a freedom fighter at any point, and they shouldn’t. But will he do the right thing and fight Imperials occasionally? I’d be surprised if he doesn’t. Not really inconsistent at all, IMO.

          • August 24, 2017 at 1:00 am
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            I guess it’s not saying he can’t be heroic or anything in a separate story. Sure he can. Everybody can. But the very defining moments in his life (from young, to older, till death) were in the original trilogy and TFA.

            And now with him being dead, it would seem that by the time this movie comes out, he is not even relevant in the current ep. 7,8,9 trilogy.

        • August 24, 2017 at 11:59 am
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          I never thought of him being a hero in the standalone movie; I always (and still) expected an ‘Oceans Eleven’-like movie, where they try to rob a casino or something with a bit of slapstick. I think Timothy Zahn wrote a similar book and maybe they use the plot, where Han ‘marries’ Sana Starros …

      • August 23, 2017 at 7:51 pm
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        This is baseless.

        • August 24, 2017 at 12:54 am
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          What is baseless? 🙂 I argumented a point of view. Your comment on the other hand, now that would be closer to the definition of baseless.

          • August 24, 2017 at 5:31 am
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            ” just cause we’ve already seen the movie.”

            No, we haven’t. We don’t know what happens in this movie. You can assume you do, but that doesn’t make your argument based on anything but…well, nothing. But your own predisposed bias.

            Mine was based on the fact that no one has seen the movie. Yours was based on…well, you know.

          • August 24, 2017 at 9:08 am
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            Afraid I’m gonna repeat myself here. I don’t assume to know anything about the actual movie, other than making the point that I don’t find the character interesting anymore because it’s a well rounded character already. Whereas for instance, most of the new characters in TFA are still very much interesting because we dont know much about them, and there is a lot to explore.
            So it’s based on, you know, common argumentation and conversation. I’m sorry you feel so offended that you can’t see past your own fandom.

          • August 24, 2017 at 2:58 pm
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            I’m not offended at all. I just find it amazing that someone can judge a movie they literally know zero plot details about. I’m sorry you can’t see past your own arrogance.

          • August 24, 2017 at 3:20 pm
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            Although I agree, I do consider myself to be wise, and that sometimes comes of as arrogant – I still dont think you are listening (reading, whatevs, listening sounds more dramatic). I am just trying to have a casual conversation with fellow SW fans expressing and exchanging points of view.

            And now that you are in the process of learning, you may google what a straw man argument is or the phrase “attacking a straw man”.

            Still, I will – for the sake of argument and dying faith in humanity – repeat myself once again: I never claimed to know the movie – I just don’t find the notion of knowing more about a well rounded character very interesting.

        • August 24, 2017 at 1:15 am
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          Let me elaborate on my baseless arguments. I could for instance, get into the basics of storytelling and what makes for compelling characters. Character development, opposition and conflict. All things we have seen already. Han is in his very core the smuggler/outlaw that was established in ep4 and re-established in TFA. He then experienced a lot of opposition trying to do his job being chased by the empire, had a strong personal conflict in what to do, help or dont helt the rebellion/his love interest, and in the end evolve as a character to be a new and improved Han that helped defeat the empire.
          Great story arc and especially nicely wrapped up in TFA with his demise.
          This was a long term story arc running from when he was fairly young, depending on how you see it. But nonetheless, his core character drive (being a smuggler) is so well established that it was even re-establish as the thing he went back to doing in TFA when everything else in his life went to shit.
          So my baseless point is just that from a story perspective, this character is so well-rounded and complete, that it seems boring to milk that cow anymore. At most it will be on a very thin basis from a character perspective.

          • August 24, 2017 at 5:29 am
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            I’m very familiar with the basics of storytelling, which is precisely why your argument is baseless.

            Because you don’t know what happens in this film. It’s boring that you think you know what will happen.

            Kasdan has written Han in every facet of his life, including TFA. You don’t think he is more aware of what makes Han compelling than you? Or me? Or anyone else?

            Watch and then judge. If you don’t like it, fine, but just because you can’t imagine a good story doesn’t mean others can’t.

          • August 24, 2017 at 9:07 am
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            Yes, you are right. Nobody could possibly know anything about what the movie is about and how good it is before hand. But if you notice, at no point in time did I claim to know it will be a bad movie. I just dont find the character to be interesting at this point, and I am entitled to making that point and argument.

          • August 24, 2017 at 2:59 pm
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            But you don’t know anything about the character at this point in his life. You are entitled to making that point. But I am entitled to point out that it is based on…nothing.

          • August 25, 2017 at 3:55 pm
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            If you don’t have anything to add to the conversation, why do you bother 🙂 Trying to have a conversation here.

    • August 23, 2017 at 5:36 pm
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      I am really not looking forward to this mess.

    • August 23, 2017 at 6:04 pm
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      I’m looking forward to it. Why not? It’s a Star Wars movie. If it turns out lackluster or just plain bad, what does that really cost me? Ten bucks and a couple hours of my time? Big deal.

      • August 24, 2017 at 1:02 am
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        So far best argument for not being sad about Disney not exploring other eras of SW yet 🙂

    • August 24, 2017 at 4:32 am
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      “Am I the only one who isn’t looking forward to this movie?”

      Translation: “I know that a ton of other people are skeptical about this movie, please give me positive affirmation.”

  • August 23, 2017 at 5:40 pm
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    Speaks to how great the tonal shift of this movie has been since apparently the previous footage of MKW can’t be used now since it doesn’t flow with the present film at all.

  • August 23, 2017 at 6:11 pm
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    Well please call I’m ready

  • August 23, 2017 at 6:51 pm
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    I’ve no idea what to think of this movie. I know I don’t think it’s the best of ideas… but maybe it’ll work. Sure seems like Disney is more than willing to throw a ton of money at it until it’s right. So kudos to them.

  • August 23, 2017 at 7:52 pm
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    I remember when NONE of us wanted ANOTHER movie about the Death Star and then we all loved Rogue One.

    • August 23, 2017 at 9:41 pm
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      2.5 outta 4 for me.

      (Love is a strong word.)

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