Phil Lord and Christopher Miller announced they are leaving the galactic saga "Star Wars" because of a creative disagreement, according to an announcement made by Lucasfilm. This surprise resignation of the two directors comes during the filming of the "Star Wars'" spin-off, which began earlier this year at Pinewood Studios. The new "Star Wars" spin-off will be directed by Ron Howard.
The two directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, were assigned the "Han Solo" mission after co-directing the box office successes "The Lego Movie", "21 Jump Street" and "22 Jump Street."
Lord and Miller said in a press release that their vision and their way of functioning have not aligned with those of their partners. They said they are very proud of the incredible work of the actors and filmmakers.
Ron Howard nominated to direct the new Star Wars movie
Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm's president — the company which produces "Star Wars" founded by George Lucas and acquired by Disney— said she welcomes the talents of the two filmmakers, but it became clear to her that they have different creative visions.
Ron Howard and George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars" worked together for the first time 45 years ago in the movie "American Graffiti".
Disagreements between Star War's directors and producer
According to Variety, who cites an anonymous source, the two directors did not like the control of the producer during the shootings. The producer was not agreeing with the working methods of the two directors.
The spin-off about Han Solo's youth will bring Alden Ehrenreich into the role of Solo - played in the original trilogy by Harrison Ford - along with Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian), Thandie Newton, and Emilia Clarke. Although Harrison Ford played this role both in the original trilogy and in the first film of the last trilogy, "The Force Awakens" (2015), he will not play in the new film which tells the story of Han Solo.
The action takes place during the first opus of the saga, "Episode IV: A New Hope" (1977). This spin-off is going to be launched in cinemas at the end of the year 2018 after "Episode VIII" which will be released in December this year.
This upcoming "Star Wars" spinoff "Han Solo" is the second of a series of films that unfold outside the Skywalker adventures, after "Rogue One", which was released last December and it has earned more than $ 1 billion worldwide.