Lucasfilm Was Reportedly Unsatisfied with Han Solo Star Alden Ehrenreich

Kofi Outlaw

06/26/2017 12:27 pm EDT

The Star Wars Han Solo standalone film has hit a violent bit of turbulence in the last week. The film had a massive creative shakeup when 21 Jump Street and LEGO Movie directing team Chris Miller and Phil Lord left the project, and Academy Award-winner Ron Howard replaced them. Lucasfilm has been trying to calm fans' worries (which have been blasted all over the Internet).

However, fan anxieties are sure to go through the roof with this latest update on the Han Solo: A Star Wars Story: According to latest reports, Lucasfilm is unhappy with the performance of the film's lead, actor Alden Ehrenreich (Hail Caesar!).

THR has an extensive report on the full scope of the problems happening on the Han Solo movie set. In addition to the directorial issue, it was also stated that the studio had also taken steps to improve the performance of Alden Ehrenreich:

"...not entirely satisfied with the performance that the directors were eliciting from Rules Don't Apply star Alden Ehrenreich, Lucasfilm decided to bring in an acting coach. (Hiring a coach is not unusual; hiring one that late in production is.)"

Now, one could argue that Lord and Miller's directorial style could be the root problem behind Ehrenreich's performance (the report cites the directors' improv filming style as a main reason for the production issues); however many fans will take this as confirmation of their initial worries about Ehrenreich.

The Han Solo movie's first (and still biggest) challenge was finding an actor who could honor Harrison Ford's legacy while still putting his own stamp on the character. Ehrenreich is still a relative unknown, and the confidence in his acting ability has never really been there.

Ironically enough Ehrenreich breakout role in the Coen Bros. Hail Caesar! mirrors this real-life situation with Han Solo, perfectly. In Caesar!, the actor plays a famous Country Western star who is cast in his first big dramatic role - and is hilariously inept at the part, causing major woes for production. Sound familiar?

It should be noted that these problems with the studio and Ehrenreich's performance would've occurred back in May, so presumably, the ship is headed for better waters, as the cast and crew are said to be happier under the direction of Ron Howard.

MORE HAN SOLO NEWS:

The Han Solo spinoff is filming now under director Ron Howard for a May 25, 2018 release. Alden Ehrenreich stars as a young Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca in the era before Star Wars: A New Hope, before they met Leia and Luke and embarked on a galaxy-saving adventure. Donald Glover also stars as Lando Calrissian, with Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Emilia Clarke in as-yet-unrevealed co-starring roles.

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(Photo: Lucasfilm)