Okay, I’m desperate to work this quotation into this somehow, so bear with me: For those of you who heard that there was going to be a new Star Wars movie all about a young Han Solo and thought to yourself, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” turns out, you may have been right.
Great, I got that out of my system. Moving right along.
The still-untitled Han Solo spinoff has lost its directors — a downright disturbance in the force, indeed. Lucasfilm confirmed Tuesday night that both Phil Lord and Christopher Miller would be stepping away from the project, with just weeks of filming left to go.
Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, released the following statement on the official Star Wars website:
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon.
Lord and Miller confirmed that “creative differences” ultimately led to the split, an age-old excuse that the pair acknowledges is definitely clichéd but nevertheless true.
The Twitterverse had some pretty strong reactions to the news, as it always does.
Twitter Reacts To Han Solo Movie News
Film Twitter trying to figure out why Lord and Miller left the Han Solo movie. #HanSolo pic.twitter.com/ryIckfGaYS
— Denizcan James (@MrFilmkritik) June 21, 2017
IF YOU DIDNT WANT A COMEDIC TONE FOR THE HAN SOLO MOVIE WHY DID YOU HIRE THE LEGO MOVIE DIRECTORS, GLOVER, AND EHRENREICH OFF OF HAIL CAESAR
— llewyn ???? (@taikaawaititi) June 21, 2017
…and my personal favorite, because I just live for grumpy Harrison Ford:
the han solo movie is failing.
somewhere in the distance, harrison ford laughs.
“now he dies for good,” he says.— soft ewan news (@lgbtkenobi) June 21, 2017
The film began principal photography on February 20 and stars Alden Ehrenreich as the young Han Solo, along with Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Glover. It’s currently still in production, with reshoots planned for the summer and a scheduled release date of May 25, 2018.
While it seems strange, and certainly surprising, for directors to abandon a project so late in the game, Variety reports that the split was a long time coming. An unnamed source from production alleges that the relationship between Lucasfilm president Kennedy and the directors was rocky right from the start, calling it a “culture clash from day one.”
What’s Next For The Han Solo Movie?
As of today, the fate of the unnamed Han Solo project is a mystery, though rumor has it Ron Howard is in talks to take over command, though nothing has been made official.
Feel free to fill in your own “Help us, Ron Howard, you’re our only hope!” joke here.
