The Han Solo movie shoot is already destined to go down in folklore after Lucasfilm’s sensational decision to fire Chris Miller and Phil Lord as directors and replace them with Ron Howard. But while the movie world is still reeling from the decision, everyone on set appears to be ecstatic over the sacking of Miller and Lord.
“When the crew was told that Ron Howard would take over as director, sources say they broke into applause,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. But what provoked the crew to react so uproariously? Insiders have been quick to insist that the approach of Chris Miller and Phil Lord was just completely at odds with how Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and writer Lawrence Kasdan wanted the Han Solo movie to be shot.
The Hollywood Reporter piece also explained how department heads on the Han Solo movie had been worried for quite some time by just how long Miller and Lord were taking to provide answers on key decisions. Plus, instead of using a dozen or more camera setups for scenes to give numerous options in the editing suite, Miller and Lord were using as little as three. Additionally, their insistence on improvisation over shooting the script line-for-line also meant production was moving at a snail’s pace.
Kathleen Kennedy had tried to take a more hands-on approach, asking Lawrence Kasdan to have a more integral role in the production. When Miller and Lord told Kathleen Kennedy they did not want Lawrence Kasdan to be a “shadow director,” Kennedy sided with the writer of The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi and The Force Awakens, fired Miller and Lord and quickly ushered Ron Howard onto the set.
The Apollo 13 director arrived in London on June 26, and production will now go all the way through until September instead of July, which is when it was supposed to conclude. If the Force is strong with Howard, then the Han Solo movie will still be released as intended on May 25, 2018.
