Despite the recent directorial shake-up on the Han Solo spin-off film, newly appointed director Ron Howard continues to express his faith in the project now that he’s been filming the latest Star Wars spin-off for a few weeks.
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The director spoke with The Hollywood Reporter to confirm the status of the project.
“It’s a fantastic script, a great cast and I am having a fantastic creative experience with it,” Howard divulged, adding that filming is “coming along great.”
Considering Howard took over directorial duties when the production only had a few weeks left, after beginning filming in February, the director noted that the project “came with great characters, a great script and actors who inhabit those characters.”
Howard continued, “It’s a great young cast, incredibly strong — smart, funny people who love their characters and love being part of this. I think we’ll be able to do something that is a lot of fun.”
While both Lucasfilm and former directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller released neutral statements about “creative differences” being the reason for the separation, sources close to the production regularly note that the filmmakers’ more improvisational and comedic filmmaking styles didn’t sit well with the studio. The duo was reportedly given “zero creative freedom” when it came to deviations from the script. Reportedly, after being alerted that reshoots would be necessary to course-correct the film, the duo stuck to their guns and decided it was best to part ways.
The untitled Han Solo film lands in theaters May 25, 2018.
More Han Solo News:
- Ron Howard Reveals First Behind-The-Scenes Look At Chewbacca
- Woody Harrelson Confirms Han Solo’s ‘Temporary’ Title
- Han Solo Movie Seems Determined To Keep Its 2018 Release Date
The Han Solo movie is being produced by Lucasfilm from a screenplay by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the second standalone Star Wars movie following Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016.
Set prior to the events of Han Solo’s first appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the film stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Joonas Suotamo. The film is said to show how Han Solo and Chewbacca first met Lando Calrissian, played by Glover.
Filming on the Han Solo movie began in January 2017 with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing. Principal photography began at Pinewood Studios in February. Lord and Miller left the Han Solo movie in June, having reportedly been fired over creative differences. Ron Howard then came on as the director to see the production to completion.
