New Details on the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the Young HanSolo film

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting several new details on what lead to the firing of directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the currently untitled Young Han Solo standalone film. According to THR, there were “deep fundamental philosophical difference” between Lord and Miller and LucasFilm President Kathleen Kennedy and co-writer/executive producer Lawrence Kasdan and that the directing duo felt they were being given “zero creative freedom” with not “enough days for each scene from the very beginning”. The straw that broke the camels back, however, was in mid-June (a few days before Lord and Miller’s firing) when the duo “didn’t start shooting until 1 p.m. That day the two used only three different setups — that is, three variations on camera placement — as opposed to the 12 to 15 that LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy had expected, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Not only was the going slow, but the few angles that had been shot did not provide a wealth of options to use in editing the movie.” The report also claims that Kennedy planned on replacing Lord and Miller with Lawrence Kasdan during reshoots - much like she did when Tony Gilroy took over for Gareth Edwards for a majority of the reshoots on “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. In “Rogue One”’s case, Edwards was much more willing to cooperate and let Gilroy work on the reshoots. Lord and Miller, however, were opposed to Kasdan coming on as a “shadow director” - another reason for their eventual firing. The report also claims editor Chris Dickens was replaced in May with “Alien: Covenant”’s Piertro Scalia and an acting coach was brought on for Alden Ehrenreich (who plays the titular smuggler) which “is not unusual [but] hiring one that late in production is”. THR’s report also corroborates a portion of Entertainment Weekly’s report from last week, when they claimed Lord and Miller were encouraging drastic improvisation from the actors; which Kasdan was completely opposed to.

Ron Howard - who has taken over directorial duties on the film - has been in contact with Lord and Miller since the duo’s firing, with one source saying they have been “very supportive, very elegant”.“Howard arrives in London on June 26[th] and shooting, which began in February and was supposed to be completed in July, will continue into the first week of September as Howard captures new material. Still, an insider says much of what Lord and Miller shot will be ‘very usable’”. Another source stated that when the crew of the Young Han Solo film were notified that Lord and Miller were fired and Howard would be directing the rest of the film, “they broke into applause”. Many speculate, however, that Kasdan will still be “shadow directing” (he’s legally unable direct the film due to DGA rules) alongside Howard - though this was not confirmed in THR’s report. Lastly, one inside source told The Hollywood Reporter the reason Kennedy didn’t fire Lord and Miller earlier in the films production (a question many fans are asking) is because: “People would say, 'Why the hell didn’t you try to work it out?’ You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” The currently untitled Young Han Solo film, which stars Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thandie Newton, Ian Kenny and Michael K. Williams, is written by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan and hitd theaters on May 25th, 2018. “The movie will explore the duo [Han and Chewie]’s adventures before the events of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’, including their early encounters with that other card-playing rogue from a galaxy far, far away, Lando Calrissian (played by Glover).” What do you think of these new details on the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the Young Han Solo film? Let me know in the comments! #StarWars #HanSolo #AldenEhrenreich #DonaldGlover #LandoCalrissian #EmiliaClarke #WoodyHarrelson #PhoebeWallerBridge #ThandieNewton #IanKenny #MichaelKWilliams #RonHoward #PhilLord #ChrisMiller #Chewbacca #PeterMayhew #MillenniumFalcon #YoungHanSolo #LawrenceKasdan #JonKasdan #BillyDeeWilliams #Lando #ChewieWereHome #TheEmpireStrikesBack #ReturnoftheJedi #TheForceAwakens #LucasFilm #Disney #HanSoloMovie