Ron Howard Reshoots On The HAN SOLO STAR WARS Spinoff Have Led To Michael K. Willaims Being Cut From The Film
Ron Howard's replacement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller on the Star Wars stand-alone Han Solo movie led to what some have referred to as a large reshaping of Lord and Miller's original vision.
It's not too surprising that a different director has an alternative take on existing footage filmed by someone else. So the news of Ron Howard making some definitive tweaks to the Han Solo movie shoudn't elicit too many gasps. However, an unfortunate byproduct of the rotating director's chair is that Michael K. Williams has scene his role in the film cut due to scheduling conflicts.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired by Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy on June 20, 2017. Ron Howard officially boarded as their replacement just a few days later but it seems there were still 3.5 weeks of principal photography and 5 weeks of reshoots already planned when Lord and Miller were let go.
In a new interview with Deadline, Emmy-nominee Michael K. Williams reveals that his role in the film has been cut due to his committment to his spy drama The Red Sea Diving Resort and his Sundance TV show Hap and Leonard. In order to accomoodae Williams' schedule the film's May 25, 2018 release date would have needed to be pushed, something Lucasfilm didn't want to do. As a result, Willaims' character, which is described as "half-human, half-animal", has been cut.
"I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with. It is what it is. When Ron Howard got hired to finish out the film, there were some reshoot issues that needed to be done in regards to my character, in order for it to match the new direction which the producers wanted Ron to carry the film in. And that would have required me on a plane a month ago to London, to Pinewood, to do reshoots. But I’m here, on location in Africa. It’s scheduling. I’m not going to be back on the market until the end of November after Hap and Leonard, and for them to wait that long for me, that would have pushed back the release date, which I believe is in May 2018. They wanted me now; I couldn’t go. So they had to clip-clip-clip."
Williams is hopeful that his character can appear in another Star Wars project somewhere down the line.