Solo: A Star Wars Story will reportedly undergo more reshoots for a period of a few weeks beginning at the end of January. This particular project is all too familiar with the concept of additional photography, following Lucasfilm's shocking decision to fire original helmsmen Phil Lord and Chris Miller four months into filming. New director Ron Howard came onboard last June, allegedly redoing roughly 80 percent of the movie once the studio became impressed with his approach. Production finally wrapped in October, with Howard revealing the spinoff's official title.
Despite Solo's May 2018 release date, Lucasfilm put off marketing their latest blockbuster so The Last Jedi could have its day in the sun. But now that Episode VIII has been playing for about a month and earned $1 billion worldwide, impatience for a trailer is starting to creep in. All signs are pointing a preview debuting soon, but first it would appear Howard still has some shots to get before he can lock final picture.
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Reddit user Hufflepuffins (who previously reported Solo would resume filming in July 2017 following the director change) posted the anthology will have some reshoots from January into at least February. Understandably, this development could make viewers feel uneasy, but there isn't too much to worry about in this situation.
Despite their negative connotation, reshoots are quite common on big-budget productions and allow directors to fine-tune certain aspects of the narrative. Examples within the revived Star Wars franchise include alterations to The Last Jedi's Canto Bight sequence and additions to The Force Awakens' Starkiller base lightsaber duel. Most of the time, they are simply brief pickups designed to perfect specific scenes and are rarely substantial. Considering Howard basically oversaw a second round of principal photography, these reshoots plausibly fall under that category and were always meant to take place. As for why they're happening now with the premiere date fast approaching, it's probably because Howard wasn't calling the shots from day one. Lord and Miller started filming in February 2017.
The fact that Howard has yet to complete Solo shouldn't even be too much of a concern right now. J.J. Abrams didn't lock Force Awakens until November 2015 (a month before the premiere), and Rogue One was under the gun after its third act was massively retooled. What Rian Johnson did on Episode VIII is unprecedented efficiency for a $200 million tentpole and should not be the new standard to which all other productions are held to. Lucasfilm is obviously pleased with the way the Solo redux has gone, so hopefully everything works out for the best.
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Source: Hufflepuffins
