Is The Han Solo Movie In More Trouble Than We Thought?

8. The Fired Directors

In the absence of a really clear picture of why Chris Miller and Phil Lord left Han Solo - or at least one unencumbered by speculation and "unnamed inside sources" - there's a danger that the story of their departure will run wildly away from the truth. But the very fact that they were removed precisely because of their work from the project is a problem.

Were they young upstart directors, that might be easier to take, but they're established and they were hired for their body of work, which was achieved using the methods that seem to have got them fired from Solo. Should we be concerned that known quality directors were fired despite their track record? Does that mean Lucasfilm are consciously saying they don't want to make that kind of great film?

It seems to be worrying a lot of people.

Is It Really All That Concerning?

It doesn't look great, certainly, but you have to consider the wider context. Star Wars movies have a habit of having director issues, stretching back well before Gareth Edwards was effectively moved aside for the Rogue One reshoots and Colin Trevorrow was fired. It's not like it's been problematic for them in the past (in fact, sticking with a stable, dependable director in George Lucas probably did far more harm).

And even more importantly, they've hired Ron Howard. It's not like they're falling back on some studio Yes Man to fill in while the higher-ups pull all the strings. They've brought on an auteur with a great track record (okay, so more recent films haven't been outstanding, but his whole CV impresses), and the film has immediately fallen into the stable hands of a fan.