In an interview with Deadline, Williams said that his busy slate of projects -- including currently shooting spy drama "The Red Sea Diving Resort" in South Africa -- made continuing with "Solo" impossible, since replacement director Ron Howard would have needed him back in London for additional filming while he was committed to other work. The actor told Deadline he wouldn't have been available again until November, when he wraps his Sundance Channel drama "Hap and Leonard," but that would have been too late to meet the Han Solo movie's projected May 2018 premiere.
"They wanted me now; I couldn't go. So they had to clip-clip-clip," Williams explained to the trade.
While reshoots are common on big budget flicks, there was some extensive work that needed to be done on the spinoff, since Howard took the reins from departed directing team Chris Miller and Phil Lord months into production, after major reported creative differences between the helmers and Lucasfilm. That reworking included Williams's character, which the actor told Deadline was "half-human, half-animal" and "kickass," though he declined to provide any other details.
It's unclear at this point if the character will be recast with a different actor, or scrapped entirely. Either way, Williams is disappointed, but understanding, and said he'd be open to working on another "Star Wars" feature in the future, should Lucasfilm come calling again.
"I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with," the actor told the trade. "It is what it is."
The still-untitled Han Solo flick is currently slated for release on May 25, 2018.
[via: Deadline]