Following the shock news earlier this week that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller had been relieved of their duties on the Han Solo Star Wars spin-off film, their replacement has now been announced. Veteran director Ron Howard, known for Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code, has now taken the reins.
Howard, who has a longstanding relationship with Star Wars and Lucasfilm, having once been tipped to direct The Phantom Menace, is considered a safe pair of hands who Disney hope will steady the ship after the surprise news, which saw Lord and Miller leave three weeks before filming was due to be completed.
Lucasfilm have moved fast to find the new director. In a statement, the Disney-owned company asserted that the production had "a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie."
Filming is due to resume on 10 July, once the new filmmaking team has had a chance to take stock of what has been filmed and what will need to be re-shot.
Various reasons have been cited for the change of leadership. In the official joint statement, Lord and Miller said that their "vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true." A report in Variety suggested a clash of cultures between the directors and writer Lawrence Kasdan.
With Alden Ehrenreich playing the younger Solo, the film also features Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Donald Glover and Thandie Newton. The scheduled release for May 2018 remains in place.
Phil Lord And Chris Miller Have Left The Han Solo Star Wars Spin-Off