In a statement on Tuesday, Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy announced that Han Solo directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have departed the project just weeks out from completion.
The statement read:
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.
Unfortunately, our 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. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew.
The term ‘creative differences’ has been ued as a reason why many directors have exited recent projects. In recent times we have seen Deadpool‘s Tim Miller exit the sequel, Dope director Rick Famuyiwa and new comer Seth Grahame-Smith both leave DC’s The Flash and Wonder Woman‘s own Patty Jenkins departed from Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World.
However, Lucasfilm didn’t take long to appoint a replacement. Just two days after parting ways with Lord and Miller, Lucasfilm announced that Ron Howard would be taking over as director. While he is mainly know as Richie in Happy Days, Howard is an Academy award winning director for his film A Beautiful Mind. He has also directed the Da Vinci Code franchise, Apollo 13 and Cinderella Man.
Kathleen Kennedy released a statement regarding the newest addition to the crew. The statement read:
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. With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie.
Despite this set back, however, the still untitled Han Solo film will still keep to it’s original release date of May 25th, 2018 with filming continueing on July 10th. The film will star Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, while featuring a massive supporting cast including Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke, Westworld‘s Thandie Newton, The Wire‘s Michael Kenneth Williams and all round funny guy Woody Harrelson.