There is a great disturbance in the Force: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the directors of the upcoming Star Wars spinoff movie featuring Han Solo, have reportedly been fired from the project midway through production.
Kathleen Kennedy, president of Disney-owned Lucasfilm, confirmed the two sides have parted ways over differing visions for the tone of the prequel starring Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo, originally played by Harrison Ford.
The film, due to open in May 2018, will now be completed by a different director.
"Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it's become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we've decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon," she said in a statement.
However, The Hollywood Reporter describes the directing duo's departure as less than mutual. According to the publication, Lord and Miller were "let go" because their vision for the Han Solo film clashed with that of veteran screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who penned two of the original Star Wars films—Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi—and co-wrote the Han Solo prequel with his son Jon Kasdan.
Lord and Miller "have a comedic sensibility and improvisational style while Kasdan favors a strict adherence to the written word—what is on the page is what must be shot," says The Hollywood Reporter. Kennedy reportedly sided with Kasdan, her veteran colleague on the Star Wars saga.
The surprise change in direction—six months after filming began in London—signals yet another Star Wars movie in flux. Is it time to worry about the future of everyone's favorite intergalactic franchise?
The answer is a little bit of a yes and a little bit of no.
As The Hollywood Reporter points out, and just about anyone who has seen a Phil Lord-Chris Miller movie can attest, the duo are known for zany, tongue-in-cheek humor in their work, from the critically acclaimed reboot of 21 Jump Street to The Lego Movie, a film, which like the Star Wars films, had generational appeal with moviegoers young and old.
Lucasfilm, which hired Lord and Miller in 2015, should have been aware that improvisation is a big part of their directing style, long before a single frame of footage was shot. 21 Jump Street co-star Rob Riggle talked about the spontaneous approach Lord, Miller and producer-and-co-star Jonah Hill encouraged on that comedy in a 2012 interview. Chris Pratt, who voiced Emmet in The Lego Movie, also spoke about improvising in that film in a 2014 interview.
Lord and Miller's style has served Lord and Miller well: Both 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie were well-reviewed and made plenty of money at the box office. That creative track record should inspire more faith in them than the studio appears to have had.
The Han Solo in this film is presumably closer in age to the Han Solo introduced in 1974's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope—a cocky, arrogant smuggler with a penchant for acerbic humor. It would have been interesting to see what Lord and Miller imagined for the character because sarcasm is something they do really well; improvisation and flexibility are also at the core of Han Solo as a character.
Ironically, a last minute change to Kasdan's script on the set of Empire Strikes Back led to one of the most iconic scenes between Harrison Ford's Han and Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia. At the end of the movie, Leia tells Han: "I love you." He responds: "I know." Kasdan's script had a different exchange between the two, but Ford suggested he say "I know" instead while discussing the scene with director Irvin Kershner during filming. The scene, although not exactly improvised, marked a historic degree of flexibility with the script and played to huge laughs when Empire was released in 1980.
The exit of Lord and Miller follows social media concern last week about the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX, due for release in 2019, which is to be directed by Colin Trevorrow, who directed 2015 blockbuster Jurassic World. But his new film, The Book of Henry, was brutalized when reviews were published last week, leading fans and critics to speculate whether the big finale in the current Star Wars trilogy is safe in Trevorrow's hands.
Episode IX, which follows 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rian Johnson's upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is already in a precarious position due to the death of Carrie Fisher. The Leia actor's death in December required Lucasfilm to change tack with its script; Kennedy said in April Trevorrow and co-writer Derek Connolly "started over" after her death. Original plans for the film called for Fisher's Leia to have a sizable role. "[Fisher] thought IX would be her movie. And it would have been," Kennedy told Vanity Fair in May.
But, here's the thing: Although the production issues surrounding the Han Solo movie and the concerns about Episode IX may seem more ominous than a Force choke, Lucasfilm hasn't yet had a bad film under the creative direction of Kennedy.
The Force Awakens, the first sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, was praised for being a nostalgic thrill ride while introducing plenty of charismatic, endearing new characters. It also grossed $2 billion at the global box office and is the No.1 movie in U.S. theatrical history.
But Rogue One is a better comparator to the untitled Han Solo film. Gareth Edwards's movie starring Felicity Jones was Lucasfilm's first foray into a standalone film set within the Star Wars universe and, like Han Solo is experiencing now, went through its own production issues. Disney ordered extensive reshoots on the film in May 2016, just six months before it was released, and drafted in writer/director Tony Gilroy to collaborate with Edwards on script changes, shooting of new scenes and post-production work.
Rogue One was ultimately released to rave reviews in December and topped north of $1 billion at the box office. Audiences were satisfied and the production tumult absolved by the end-product. It also justified Lucasfilm exercising its creative control to ensure it protected one of the most important and enduring franchises in Hollywood.
It's easy to assign blame or take sides—especially in an age of quick-fingered social media reactions. But maybe we should reserve judgement until the Han Solo movie hits theaters next May.
Uncommon Knowledge
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