By now, many people have likely heard about how the #Han Solo film has lost its two directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller part way through filming. Since that shocking revelation three days ago, there have been rumors floating around about who could step in at this late point and finish the project.
According to a Den of Geek article published shortly after the announcement, names including Howard and Joe Johnson, Lawrence Kasdan, and Ron Howard were doing the rounds. In the end, they went with the final choice of Ron Howard.
Why fire and why hire
When the story first broke on June 20, the statement Phil Lord and Chris Miller gave for walking away from the film mid-production was due to "creative differences." This in spite of the fact that they are not fans of the cliched phrase.
When looking at their body of work, "21 Jump Street", "The Lego Movie" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," fans know that they can direct a good movie.
With their successful fast and loose shoot from the hip style, one would have thought that they would have been perfect to direct this film. If asked to describe Han Solo in a few words, those would likely be it. In "Episode IV A New Hope" for example, he does just that in the infamous 'who shot first' cantina scene.
In taking over a project this far into production, director Ron Howard has a lot of work ahead of him. Although with credentials such as "A Beautiful Mind" and "Apollo 13", fans know that he is no stranger to both the drama and science fiction aspects which come with this film.
If anyone can pull a film together from this point on, it's him. When one thinks abut the film "Apollo 13", that is essentially what it is all about; taking something from its halfway point (the shuttle in space and the "Han Solo" film respectively) and following them to their completion.
What this means for the film
Normally in Hollywood, losing a director isn't too big deal.
It happens every now and again for a multitude of reasons. What makes this situation unique, however, is losing them this far into production. This means that once Ron Howard takes over, he has to find a way to either re-shoot or re-edit the film in such a way that it flows together as one cohesive story. In order for the film to keep its release date in May of next year and succeed on top of that, one has to be unable to tell that this situation ever took place. The last thing this franchise need is to have another "Phantom Menace" size bomb.
Here's to the future for all. Good luck and may the force be with you Ron Howard, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller.
