Everyone was shocked yesterday when it was announced that the untitled Han Solo movie lost its two directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, when there were only about three weeks of filming left. No one had heard of any trouble on set.
And yet, here we are the next day, and a bunch of unnamed sources are coming out of the woodwork to explain what went wrong, with new names floating around as replacement directors.
Over at Variety, their unnamed people are blaming a directors clash with producer Kathleen Kennedy -- as well as her Lucasfilm team, and co-writer and executive producer Lawrence Kasdan.
Here's what Variety's "person with knowledge of the production" said about the lack of chemistry on set:
"It was a culture clash from day one," the source said. "[Kennedy] didn't even like the way they folded their socks."
The source said that while Lord and Miller were supposedly hired for their vision and distinctive brand of filmmaking when it came to the "Star Wars" production, Kennedy did not approve of their shooting style and process of interacting with actors and crew. "They weren't given the leeway to do what they had to do," the source said.
The duo also clashed with Kasdan, who has been an integral creative part of several "Star Wars" movies, dating back the the 1980 "The Empire Strikes Back." Like Kennedy, he questioned many of the pair's directing choices. "Kathy, her team and Larry Kasdan have been doing it their way for a very long time. They know how the cheese is made and that's how they want it made," said the source. "It became a very polarizing set."
Commenters seemed to jump at the idea of blaming Kennedy (dubbing her a "femiNazi" despite her hiring male directors and writers) not only for this but for what they didn't like about "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One" as well, while others thought Lord and Miller were wrong for a Star Wars standalone from the start. Another added, "Word was, Kennedy had seen some dailies and was unhappy about wooden acting from some of the cast, plus the quality of some of the action sequences. Seems like Lord or Miller (or a close friend of theirs) ran to Variety to give an anonymous statement – this whole piece is based on one anonymous source. Kinda fishy, if you ask me, and just what I would expect someone who was just fired to say about the 'jerks' who fired them."
Over at The Hollywood Reporter, the angle is slightly different.
Sources told THR "the style and vision of Lord and Miller clashed with that of Lawrence Kasdan, the legendary screenwriter behind the classics Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, who also wrote, with his son, Jon Kasdan, the script for the Han Solo stand-alone set (for now) to be released in 2018. [...] The creative clash, according to one insider, also came down to differences in understanding the character of Han Solo. 'People need to understand that Han Solo is not a comedic personality. He's sarcastic and selfish,' said that source."
Side note: If they didn't want comedy, why hire the directors of "21 Jump Street" and "The Lego Movie"?
THR continued:
"The friction was felt almost immediately when the movie began shooting in February, sources say, but the directors always thought it could be worked through. Kennedy, the producer and head of Lucasfilm, decided to back her lifelong colleague, who shaped much of Solo's character in Empire and Return of the Jedi and who had a specific tone in mind for the new movie. The duo also didn't feel they had the support of producer Allison Shearmur, who was acting as Lucasfilm's representative on the London set.
Lord and Miller, who had relocated to London with their families for preproduction and production of the movie, were said to have been blindsided by the firing, which they learned about Monday, according to one source, although another disputed that account."
They added that production is now on a short hiatus before they move forward.
According to Deadline, Ron Howard has emerged as front-runner as replacement director. If not him, Kasdan's name is in the running, as well as Joe Johnston.
The movie is still scheduled for release May 25, 2018.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.