Whenever a director is replaced on a major film there is usually some conversation about who is going to receive the credit for it. Who did the most work? Whose film is it really? We just saw this play out between Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon on Justice League, with the former getting credit despite the latter’s extensive reshoots. Now we’re seeing something similar on Solo: A Star Wars Story, where Ron Howard stepped in to replace Phil Lord and Chris Miller who were booted because of creative differences.
According to Paul Bettany, himself a replacement for a busy Michael K. Williams, it was Howard who made the movie his own, so much so that Lucasfilm allowed him to reshoot more than was originally planned…
“His staging ability is so fucking brilliant. I think he went in and he was like a laser, working out what needed to be done when he looked at the footage. And then, as things moved on, everybody felt so secure with him. And they gave him more. He reshot a lot more than was originally intended.”
I’m surprised they didn’t let him start over from scratch and toss everything his predecessors did. Why not? Lucasfilm really didn’t like the comic vibe the duo brought, when apparently a different tone is what was called for. In fact, Bettany says the movie calls for more of a gangster movie vibe, something we haven’t seen in Star Wars before…
“It’s Han Solo’s story, and of course his story would be a caper. On one level it’s a gangster movie. That’s really interesting, because it’s within the canon but really different. It’s f**king Han Solo!”
We won’t have to wait long to see for ourselves because Solo: A Star Wars Story opens May 25th 2018. [TotalFilm]
