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 recently 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.
It seems he’s quite excited about the opportunity, too, as the director took to Twitter earlier this evening to say the following:
I hope to honor the great work already done & help deliver on the promise of a Han Solo film.
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) June 22, 2017
Though he wasn’t many people’s first pick for a replacement, it should be interesting to see what a seasoned Hollywood pro like Howard can do with the film. Especially given that Lord and Miller only had a few weeks left of principal photography before their cut would have been complete. Will the studio and their incoming director scrap some of what the duo already put together, or will they just attempt to repair the damage during the edit and in reshoots?
Time will tell, but 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. With filming due to recommence on July 10th though, at least that original May 25th, 2018 release date seems to be safe…for now.