Rumor: Ron Howard Reshot Almost All of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

The latest spinoff movie in the Star Wars franchise went through a lot of turmoil after Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy fired directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord after four months of filming.

And though replacement director Ron Howard recently wrapped production on Solo: A Star Wars Story, a new rumor indicates he reshot nearly the entire film.

The rumor comes from the Star Wars-centric podcast The Resistance Broadcast, in which James Baney from Star Wars News Net said they got word from their sources on the film that “the reshoots ended up covering nearly all of [Solo: A Star Wars Story], all of the film, and potentially up to twice the budget.”

Based on the amount of new footage that’s likely to be used in the new film, it seems clear that Howard will be the sole director credited on the film.

When Lord and Miller were fired, there was left than a month left of shooting on the original production schedule, with about five more weeks of additional photography which Lucasfilm plans into all of their movies.

But Howard went over schedule, and his time shooting the movie was about one week less than Miller and Lord’s time on the production.

Rumors indicate that Miller and Lord were removed from the project because they didn’t stick to the script and the actors to improv scenes, angering Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.

The announcement from Lucasfilm made the split seem amicable, but all of the reports coming out of the film make it clear that Miller and Lord were ousted from the project. But sources were hopeful about the project, calling much of the footage “usable” and saying Howard would only be reshooting key scenes.

The fact that Howard went so far over schedule, with filming going about two months past the original wrap date, makes it clear that there was a major change in the production.

Even though this is a Lucasfilm project and turning a profit seems inevitable, the inflated budget won’t sit well with most executives, but Kathleen Kennedy has proven capable of stewarding the franchise.

We’ll find out how it all turns out when Solo: A Star Wars Story premieres in theaters on May 25, 2018.