You come at the king, you best not miss. Michael K. Williams is goddamn presence in whatever role he’s in, but it would seem that the upcoming Han Solo spinoff will not have the man and his immense talent.
Deadline reports that the “Star Wars” spinoff film, which is currently undergoing extensive reshoots following the exit of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, has seen Williams’ role cut from the movie. The official reason being given is scheduling, with the actor himself telling the trade his own busy calendar simply didn’t allow him to fit into Ron Howard‘s reworking, especially if the aim is still to make next spring’s targeted release date.
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“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,” Williams said. “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 [his SundanceTV series] ‘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.”
Of course, it’s not unusual for actors to be working simultaneously on projects; Adam Driver shot his scenes for a season of “Girls,” while also working on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” However, it sounds like Williams just can’t make the space and we’re pretty bummed out about that. As for his scrapped role, the actor says he played a half-human, half-animal character.
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The untitled Han Solo spinoff opens on May 25, 2018.