When Phil Lord and Chris Miller exited “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” it left open some huge legal question marks. The duo may have been contracted to receive backend profits based on the success of the movie, but Disney could buy them out with a lump sum payment. However, the bigger issue is the directors’ credit on the movie. It’ll be up to the Directors’ Guild Of America to determine how much of Lord and Miller’s work remains intact in ‘Solo,’ and how much belongs to replacement director Ron Howard, but it does sound like there could be situation where he winds up his name on the movie.
Speaking with Total Film, Paul Bettany — who joined the picture and subbed in for Michael K. Williams — lets it slip that the studio was so pleased with Howard’s work, they broadened his responsibilities on the movie.
“His staging ability is so fucking brilliant,” Bettany enthused. “I think he went in and he was like a laser, working out what needed to be done when he looked at the footage. And then, as things moved on, everybody felt so secure with him. And they gave him more. He reshot a lot more than was originally intended.”
So, are we seeing Lord and Miller’s work being scrapped as much as possible? I wouldn’t be surprised. The word was that they were deviating from the script they were given and improvising, raising the ire of both screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy. If they found in Howard a way to return and give them the movie they intended, you can bet they were going to follow that path as far along as they could.
Whether or not “Solo: A Star Wars Story” winds up being a Ron Howard Film, we’ll find on May 25, 2018.