Was youngHan Sologoing to be styled after Ace Ventura? It has been reported that Chris Miller and Phil Lord were let go fromHan Solo: A Star Wars Storyfor creative differences, a term that is thrown around quite a bit in Hollywood and the music industry. Usually creative differences is a polite way of saying something far more sinister happened behind the scenes, but in this case, creative differences seems to actually be what drove the directing duo apart from Lucasfilm and Disney and as it turns out, part of the cast as well. Sources close to the project say that Miller and Lord were approaching the character ofHan Soloin a more comedic approach, which didn’t sit right with many people, specifically young Han Solo himself,Alden Ehrenreich.
Inside sources close to the project revealed toStar Wars News Netthat Alden Ehrenreich voiced his concerns before anybody about the direction that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were taking the famous smuggler. Star Wars News Net explains.
“Ehrenreich had concerns with the production as filming progressed, he started to worry thatLord and Miller’s screwball comedyangle was starting to interfere with what the character of Han Solo is really about - even if this was a younger, more reckless take on the character than the one we met in the cantina of Tatooine.”
This position is completely understandable to anybody familiar withStar Warsand the character of Hans Solo. Han Solo is seen as more of a sarcastic character that starts off rather selfish at the beginning of theStar Warstrilogy and viewers aren’t sure at first whether they can trust him.
As if the very mention of “screwball comedy” weren’t enough, the source went on to say that Lord and Miller’s portrayal of young Han Solo was like Jim Carrey’sAce Venturaat times. Alrighty then, say all you want about it being okay to take young Han Solo in a comedic direction, go ahead anddefend the directorsofThe LEGO Movieand21 Jumpstreet, but Ace Ventura mixed with Han Solo? That may be one of the single worst ideas in theStar Warsuniverse since the introduction of Jar Jar Binks. One word that does not come to mind when one thinks of Han Solo is “zany” or “screwball comedy.”
Jim Carrey’sAce Venturawas a great comedic character back in 1994, but there is no way that anybody on the planet in 2017/2018 wants to see a few hours of Han Solo throwing out catchphrases and one-liners with Chewbacca while hanging out with Lando. Maybe it was a zany adventure from back when Han Solo rescued at-risk space creatures before he was a smuggler and that’s' how he came to meet Chewie. That idea might make a good sketch onSaturday Night Live, but even then, the joke would wear thin after about the 6th minute of the sketch.
So yes, Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been fired. The news is everywhere right now and it has sparked up all kinds of debate overcreative freedomwhile working under Disney and Lucasfilm. And while there might be some truth to a lack of creative freedom, it seems to beworking out for the best in the Star Wars universe. If anything these sources claim is true, it’s a really good idea that the directors were let go fromHans Solo: A Star Wars Storybecause nobody wants to see anAce Ventura/Han Solo hybrid. Nobody.
