Disney is ready to stick a fork in Han Solo‘s recent production woes.
After parting ways with Phil Lord and Chris Miller due to creative differences, the Mouse House quickly drafted in Ron Howard to take the reins on its second Star Wars Anthology pic. A May 2018 release date remains intact, and Entertainment Weekly has now relayed an official statement from Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, in which the franchise veteran reveals that filming is expected to resume on July 10th.
That lends the Oscar-winning Howard two-and-a-half weeks to suss out the finer details, which will include meeting with the film’s ensemble cast – namely Alden Ehrenreich (Solo), Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian), Woody Harrelson (?), and Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke (?) – to identify what still needs to be done before the Han Solo spinoff can begin its journey toward post-production.
Surely Howard’s first port of call will be to steer the movie back toward Lawrence and Jon Kasdan’s original script. In the aftermath of Lord and Miller’s departure, it’s been claimed The LEGO Movie filmmakers decided to deviate from the screenplay multiple times in order to add more spontaneous comedy, pushing the relationship between director and studio “from strained to fractured.”
After four weeks of filming, it seems Disney and Lucasfilm ultimately decided to side with the Kasdans, and in her official statement, Kathleen Kennedy declared that she’s fully confident that the Han Solo movie is now in the right hands.
At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago. With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie. Filming will resume the 10th of July.
Without any official Han Solo material out in the open – barring that group photo of Lord and Miller in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon – and therefore nothing to compare between the two versions, it’ll be difficult to gauge how Ron Howard’s style affects the final product. But with filming due to recommence on July 10th, that original May 25th, 2018 release date seems to be safe…for now.