As we try to assemble any kind of sane explanation for the firing of Chris Miller and Phil Lord from the "Han Solo" movie, facts are starting to emerge as we are slowly, but surely, coming to better understand the full extent of this cinematic clusterfuck of the highest order. We're still all stunned by what happened, but a fuller picture is emerging.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller thought they were supposed to 'make a comedy' when they were hired for the job, which coincided with them going a little too far in the comedic side of things. Hell, they brought improvisation into the mix and didn't seem to care about Lawrence Kasdan's script. They though they were making 23 Jump Street. 3/4 of the way through Kathleen Kennedy took a look at the film herself and said "what the ..." or something like that, and ordered the directors to switch the tone, to which they refused. The rest is, as they would say, etched in history, as we will likely never see the slapstick version of the Han Solo movie.
EW has it exactly like this:
"….others on the project say they pushed too far. It wasn’t just a question of tone. The variations added up to significantly change the story. They may have been brought aboard to give young Han Solo a wiseacre vibe and an irreverent style, but Lucasfilm still felt the directors had a responsibility to tell the story as written.
When dailies began rolling in featuring improvisation from the actors and new ideas from the directors that significantly parted ways with the script, the relationship with the home office at Lucasfilm became fraught. As principal photography for the movie approached its end, it became clear that the filmmakers and producers did not share the same vision for some critical scenes.
Reshoots were always possible (they are factored into almost every major film these days, and each new Star Wars project has undergone them), but as Lord and Miller dug in, refusing to compromise on what they saw as best for the film, the partnership went from strained to fractured. If they wouldn’t do the scenes as Lucasfilm and Kennedy wanted them now, why would they do them that way during reshoots?"
Here's damage cont ... err .... Disney's recent press release welcoming its new director Ron Howard:
“At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago. With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie. Filming will resume the 10th of July."