Sizzle Reel Impresses Disney Execs

There has been a lot of press regarding the upcoming Han Solo movie, and not much of it has been good.  Let's start with the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the two directors that had been fired from the film with only three weeks left of filming for the production.  The early rumors were that the two were relying too heavily on comedy and not enough on the drama and "space adventure" side of the film.  Now, it seems that Kathleen Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan didn't like the way that the two would film improvisational scenes for the movie, and were steering too far away from the actual script.  They'd film 2 or 3 scenes from the script, then do about a dozen improve.  That didn't sit well with the puppet masters, so they were let go.  Another bit of news that escaped from the set was that the directors had hired an acting coach for Alden Ehrenreich (the actor playing the young Han Solo) because they didn't feel that Ehrenreich was doing a very good job portraying a smuggler.  These two bits of information started throwing up warning flags to fans, not something that Disney and Lucasfilm could afford to have happen, considering that they need this movie to do well.  So things weren't looking too good for the movie.  And then...


...Kennedy and Lucasfilm announced that Oscar-winning director Ron Howard would take over as director for the film.  They needed a veteran director with the experience to save the film and give it the tone that they were looking for, and they got it right away with Howard.  Howard was very gracious when he commented on getting the job.  He thanked Kennedy and Lucasfilm, and also thanked Lord and Miller for all of the hard work that they had already put into the film.  Apparently, Lord and Miller's work hadn't been nearly as terrible as had been reported, because it was reported that there's already been a "sizzle reel" that's been put together and viewed by Disney executives, and they loved it.  Even though I think that they made the right decision in letting Lord and Miller go and hiring Howard in their place, it makes me wonder that if the sizzle reel was so good, why did they let Lord and Miller go?  Whether or not they agreed with how they were filming the movie, it sounds like the two were getting the job done.  It doesn't really matter now, though.  Howard's in, Lord and Miller are out.


Expect to hear or see something about the Han Solo movie at this year's D23 Convention.  If they do in fact show the sizzle reel to the attendees, Disney would be smart to post it online for everyone to see after releasing it at the convention.  They need to show fans that everything is moving along smoothly, and that there's nothing to worry about regarding this film.  As of right now, they're sticking to it's original release date, which is May 25, 2018, but if anything changes, I'll let you all know.