The latter half of June was a rough period for the Han Solo movie due to the departure of directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Within days, Ron Howard was tapped as their replacements, and while there's still a lot of filming that needs to be finished. Even with such a sudden leadership change, Woody Harrelson, who plays Han's mentor Beckett in the Star Wars movie, isn't worried about working under a new director this late in the game. Harrelson said:
Oh, you can relax, man -- because obviously the Force is with us... Ron is great. He's awesome. He's such a gentleman and so prepared. And I loved Chris and Phil. But I think we did land in very capable hands.
When asked by Uproxx if Ron Howard hopping on to the Han Solo movie has had a "calming" effect on the production, Woody Harrelson assured fans that the second Star Wars Anthology film is in safe hands with Howard (with whom he previously worked with on EDtv), adding that the new director is "awesome" and a gentleman "who is prepared." Howard arrived in London near the end of June to complete the remaining weeks of shooting left, but even once that is finished, there are still five weeks of reshoots scheduled for later this year. Going off Harrelson's comment, though, it doesn't sound like he, any of the other actors and the crew will be just fine with Howard at the helm.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller were tapped to direct the Han Solo movie back in 2015, and in the months that followed once shooting began at the end of January, there wasn't any indication that there were problems behind the scenes. It was only when it was unexpectedly announced last month that they were leaving that a light was shed on the troubled production, as the 21 Jump Street duo reportedly clashed with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan about the tone of the movie. It even got to a point where an acting coach was hired for Alden Ehrenreich after weeks of filming were already done. But that period of the Han Solo movie is over now, and as we speak, Ron Howard is leading the charge behind the camera, as well as trolling fans with set pictures and videos on the side.
While no specific plot details for the Han Solo have been released yet, the new Star Wars Anthology spinoff will explore Han's time as a smuggler years before he became a Rebel hero in A New Hope. Along with Woody Harrelson, the main cast includes Alden Ehrenreich as Han, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Michael K. Williams and Ian Kenny.
The Han Solo movie is still slated to blast its way into theaters on May 25, 2018, and you can see Woody Harrleson next in War for the Planet of the Apes starting this Friday.
