“Solo: A Star Wars Story” had already been in production on filming when the original directors were replaced by Ron Howard. While Phil Lord and Chris Miller started the project about the popular Harrison Ford character, Han Solo, they were fired over creative differences with just three weeks of filming to go. Stepping into the project to finish it, Howard tackled reshoots and finished the film.

With the film having just released a trailer during the NFL Super Bowl, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told EW that replacing Lord and Miller had nothing to do with their talent levels but more to do with a difference of opinion on the filmmaking process:

“I think these guys are hilarious, but they come from a background of animation and sketch comedy and when you are making these movies you can do that and there’s plenty of room for improvisation, we do that all the time, but it has to be inside of a highly structured process or you can’t get the work done and you can’t move the armies of people to anticipate and have things ready. So, it literally came down to process. Just getting it done… These are really great guys and you know, nobody wanted this to happen. It was just one of those unfortunate things.”

Cinematographer Bradford Young remained onboard when Howard took over, and there wasn’t a huge gap between filming periods. In that same article, Howard revealed that he was initially unsure about signing on to the project. However, Howard said Lord and Miller’s sensibilities are still present in the film:

“I know Chris and Phil. They’re incredibly talented guys, and all anyone at Imagine Entertainment wants to do is find a way to work with Chris and Phil, and that’s every bit as much the case today as ever. But when I learned that this change was happening, it just came in a moment where I was working on lots of new projects for Imagine, and I had not planned to direct anything last year. So then this came my way, and I was talking to Kathy, and the now tragically late Alli Shearmur, an old friend. I was reluctant, but I also began to feel that I could help. It’s disappointing that any company ever feels like they have to make a change like that. It’s rough on everybody and disappointing for everybody, and I’ve just tried to come in and – of course, Phil and Chris’s fingerprints are all over the movie, given how much they put into it and the time they put into it. I hope fans won’t even think about how the movie was made. They should just lose themselves in it.”

Solo: A Star Wars Story features 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 playing Han’s mentor, a man by the name of Beckett, while Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke, Westworld’s Thandie Newton, and Fleabag‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge also star.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is coming to theaters on May 25, 2018.

Are you excited for Solo? What do you think about Howard having finished the film? Let us know in the comments section.

Photo Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm