Frontrunners to replace Lord and Miller on Han Solo film emerge

Last night, a bombshell arrived online in the form of the departure of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars movie, with the pair and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy citing “creative differences.” Kennedy also noted that “a new director will be announced soon.”

With the dust at least semi-settled, Deadline reports that a potential replacement for the pair could come in the form of Ron Howard. Howard is attached to projects in development but isn’t currently filming anything. In addition, the outlet notes that Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote the Han Solo film with his son Jake, is also a potential replacement for the film. Kasdan has been involved in the Star Wars franchise since The Empire Strikes Back and has even directed some films of his own, including The Big Chill and Silverado.

The Hollywood Reporter corroborates that the pair are in contention for the job, while also noting that Joe Johnston of The Rocketeer and Jumanji is another name being floated for the position. Johnston began his career working on the first Star Wars film and worked on the visual effects of every chapter in the original trilogy.

It remains to be seen who will sit in the director’s chair for the upcoming film when production resumes (as just three weeks were left of the film’s principal photography) or how the Director’s Guild will handle the situation moving forward. Lucasfilm seemingly hopes to keep the film in its previously-announced May 25, 2018 release date.

The film is set to feature Hail, Caesar‘s Alden Ehrenreich as Han, with Atlanta‘s Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and The Force Awakens‘ Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. Woody Harrelson is attached to play Han’s mentor, a man by the name of Beckett, while Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke, Westworld‘s Thandie Newton, The Wire‘s Michael K. Williams and Fleabag‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge are set for undisclosed roles.