Following the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the forthcoming Star Wars spin-off Han Solo movie, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has hired the veteran director and long-time George Lucas collaborator Ron Howard to complete production on Lucasfilm's second non-episodic Star Wars movie.
According to reports from SWNN concerns over Lord and Miller's loose and renegade directing style was raised by lead actor Alden Ehrenreich who reportedly felt that the comedic tone of the movie was echoing Jim Carrey classic Ace Ventura and raised concerns to Kennedy and long-term Star Wars writer Lawrence Kasdan, who has also reportedly clashed with the young directing duo during the movie's production.
Some concerns have been raised that Kennedy and her team are limiting creative control of the movies, stifling the creativity of directors. Yet both J J Abrams and Rian Johnson have enjoyed unparalleled creative freedom on The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, respectively. Even though Tony Gilroy was hired to reshoot the movies closing moments even Gareth Edwards was given enough freedom to create a darker, grittier Star Wars movie.
Director of the classic Apollo 13 (pictured above) Ron Howard will likely be given extra shooting time over the reportedly three weeks remaining to ensure that he can finish the Han Solo in line with Lucasfilms vision while adding his own elements and trademarks to the movie. While we wish Lord and Miller all the luck and success they deserve in the field of comedy movies, one does wonder why, if he was available why wasn't Howard chosen as Han Solo's director from the start?
