Variety has reported that the new director for the upcoming Han Solo movie is Ron Howard. The position was recently abandoned by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, leaving the fate of the Star Wars film in jeopardy. There was still several weeks of production left prior to the shift but Lucasfilm has now added an additional five weeks of reshoots onto the schedule. I suspect some portion of the original story will be lost, given the difference in directing styles (the original directors had a fondness for humor and improvisation – which may have lead to the decision to remove them from the project).
Ron Howard has worked with Lucasfilm in the past on Willow in 1988. Other credits include hits like Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind as well as flops such as Inferno and In the Heart of the Sea. The director will also be reuniting in this picture with actor Warwick Davis, who starred in Willow. Howard is set to begin working immediately.
What do you think of Lucasfilm’s decision?
[source: AV Club]
[header image credits: Buckner/Deadline/Rex/Shutterstock]