If even a shred of Vulture’s expose on Solo: A Star Wars Story is true, then erstwhile directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller lost control of their galactic adventure. And fast.
Prior to Lucasfilm’s decision to part ways with the filmmaking duo, whose work spans The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street, Lord and Miller allegedly “felt the pressure” and began shooting multiple takes of the same scene in order to encourage the same improvisational comedy and off-the-cuff jokes synonymous with their previous work.
Such a method of approach was clearly at odds with Lucasfilm’s rebooted Star Wars saga, leading the Powers That Be to appoint Ron Howard in their place. And though that may be true, Chris Miller took to Twitter late last night to downplay Vulture’s allegations, writing, “don’t believe everything you read.”
Short and sweet, then, though we should stress that Joy Fehily, a spokesperson for both Miller and Lord, categorically denied any allegations, noting that “this information is completely inaccurate.” So perhaps Vulture’s source was wildly off base, after all? It’s possible.
For the record, the unnamed cast member claimed Miller and Lord had bitten off more than they could chew, essentially, and that Alden Ehrenreich simply isn’t good enough to lace Harrison Ford’s boots.
Phil and Chris are good directors, but they weren’t prepared for Star Wars. After the 25th take, the actors are looking at each other like, ‘This is getting weird.’ [Lord and Miller] seemed a bit out of control. They definitely felt the pressure; with one of these movies, there are so many people on top of you all the time. The first assistant director was really experienced and had to step in to help them direct a lot of scenes.
And yes, contrary to popular belief, it appears Ron Howard is working from the same story template that was originally earmarked for Lord and Miller:
It’s exactly the same script. They’re filming exactly the same things. There’s nothing new. [Lord and Miller] used whole sets. But Ron is just using parts from those sets. I guess they’re not shooting wide angle. Maybe to save money.
Just like Rogue One before it, Solo: A Star Wars Story now faces a long and difficult journey to release in that it’s been shackled by great expectations and false allegations. Still, Lucasfilm’s franchise has been on a roll ever since that historic merger with Disney – The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi have all performed incredibly well – and we’ll be crossing our fingers in the hope that that piping hot streak continues on May 25th.