Ron Howard 'named as new director of the Star Wars Han Solo standalone movie'
Ron Howard has been named by The Hollywood Reporter as the new director of the Star Wars Han Solo standalone movie, with official confirmation expected to follow shortly.
On Tuesday, in a shock move, it was revealed that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller would no long be working on the project, due to creative differences with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote the film with his son Jon, and with others involved in the movie.
"Unfortunately, our vision and process weren't aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren't fans of the phrase 'creative differences' but for once this cliché is true," Miller and Lord said in a joint statement on Tuesday. "We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew."
Kathleen Kennedy, head of LucasFilm, said at the time that a new director would be announced shortly, and many speculated that Howard, whose films include Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and Frost/Nixon, could be a contender.
It remains to be seen, however, just how the director's style will blend with the footage already shot by Miller and Lord, who were believed to be almost three quarters of the way through shooting when they were let go from the project.
According to THR, Howard will first "soothe a rattled set and will pore over a rough edit to see what the project has and still needs".
There are believed to be three and a half weeks of filming left to go, plus a further five weeks of (planned) reshoots.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the reason Miller and Lord, who are known for 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie, may have been fired, could be down to their comedic, improvisational approach, which clashed with the more by the books methods favoured by Kasdan.
