Solo: A Star Wars Story promised to reveal Han Solo's new "canon" origin, and with The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller at the helm, all signs pointed to it being a great start for Lucasfilm's planned slate of character-led spin-offs (Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and more were expected to follow).
Lord and Miller were fired from the movie during shooting over creative differences with the studio. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy turned to Ron Howard to right the ship, and while some of the filmmaking duo's ideas and scenes remained, the result was mostly Howard's movie.
The response from fans and critics was relatively muted (it made only $392 million at the worldwide box office and has 69% on Rotten Tomatoes), though there are plenty of people who hope Lucasfilm will #MakeSolo2Happen. Alas, as Solo's performance led to plans for more "A Star Wars Story" movies being scrapped, that seems unlikely.
Talking to Vulture (via SFFGazette.com), Howard opened up on meeting with Kennedy and writer Jonathan Kasdan to discuss taking the helm of the troubled project.
"They basically said, ‘We’ve reached a creative impasse with Lord and Miller. Would you ever consider coming in?'" Howard recalled. "I looked at some edited footage, and I saw what was bothering them. There was a studio that liked the script the way it was and wanted a ‘Star Wars’ movie, but there was a disconnect early on tonally, and they weren’t convinced that what Phil and Chris were doing was working effectively."
"I couldn’t judge that because I didn’t see enough of it to know. But they were sure," Howard continued. "Once I said, ‘Okay, I think I can do this script, and I think I understand what you want of this script,’ they said, ‘We’d want to reshoot a lot.’ I looked at the whole movie and then pointed out some things that I thought were great."
"And Phil and Chris were incredibly gracious throughout that process," he noted. "They were just seeing two different movies. So I came in, I had a blast, but there’s nothing personal about that film whatsoever. It’s still just a shame. I can’t wait for Phil and Chris’s next movie."
In other words, Solo: A Star Wars Story ended up being a movie made by committee (a.k.a. studio mandates), instead of what could have been a unique and imaginative new approach to the character and this Galaxy Far, Far Away from the Spider-Verse duo. Howard's observation that "there’s nothing personal" about the end product also seems telling.
Still, after taking the job, Howard knew he needed to turn to for advice: longtime friend and Star Wars creator George Lucas. He had one piece of advice and told him, "Just don’t forget — it’s for 12-year-old boys."
What did you think about Solo: A Star Wars Story? Do you think it's worthy of a sequel? Let us know in the comments section below.