Fired Han Solo Directors Had Reportedly Turned Character Into Ace Ventura

The movie world is still in shock following Lucasfilm’s decision to suddenly fire Chris Miller and Phil Lord from directing the still untitled Han Solo film. A number of rumors have since emerged speculating about why the filmmakers were let go by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, with the latest allegation suggesting that the duo had somehow managed to turn the character of Han Solo into a comedic creation akin to Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura.

Originally it was reported that Chris Miller and Phil Lord had dramatically fallen out with Han Solo’s co-writer Lawrence Kasdan, which then resulted in Kathleen Kennedy siding with the Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi writer over the pair. But the latest speculation is that it was actually Han Solo’s leading actor, Alden Ehrenreich, that raised concerns about how Phil Lord and Chris Miller were directing the film. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were apparently using such a zany approach to film Han Solo that the film’s incarnation of the character was similar to that of Jim Carrey’s outlandish efforts as Ace Ventura.

“[Alden Ehrenreich] started to worry that Lord & Miller’s screwball comedy angle 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 that Cantina on Tatooine. One source described it as being oddly comparable to Jim Carrey’s performance in Ace Ventura at times.”

The above information came courtesy of Star Wars Net’s sources, via the Express, who insisted that Alden Ehrenreich had a big part to play in the directors being fired. While the Hail, Caesar actor was aware that the film would be taking a “younger” and more “reckless” look at the character of Han Solo, he believed that the directors had taken it too far.

Alden Ehrenreich is believed to have registered his concerns regarding Chris Miller and Phil Lord to one of the film’s producers, who then informed Kathleen Kennedy. The Lucasfilm president then decided to view the footage the pair had shot, and after doing so she quickly became concerned. Soon after, Kathleen Kennedy decided to try and salvage the film by hiring a new director.

Chris Miller and Phil Lord were informed that they’d been let go from Han Solo on Monday evening, and then Lucasfilm released a statement informing the press of their decision on Tuesday. Ron Howard was hired as Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s replacement on Thursday, and he now has three and a half weeks of filming left to shoot, as well as five weeks of reshoots later this year, too.

[Featured Image by Lucasfilm/Warner Bros.]