Film producer and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts are sympathizing with the director shake-up surrounding the upcoming young Han Solo movie -- the Star Wars anthology film that's had a rough last week starting with the firing of its directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
When news broke that the directing duo were fired from the film due to "creative differences" with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who weren't keen on the comedic and improvisational approach Lord and Miller were taking, fans around the world were concerned about whether or not the movie would land on its feet. Luckily, Han Solo has found a new hope in director Ron Howard, best known for his films Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind, who stepped in as the film's new director last week.
In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Feige and Watts, who were taking about their latest installment in the MCU, Spider-Man: Homecoming, shared their thoughts about the drama surrounding the Han Solo movie, and Feige sympathizing with Kennedy, a fellow producer he has a lot of respect for. Here is what Feige said about Kennedy and the decision she made about the Han Solo movie:
“Kathy’s an unbelievable inspiration over the past few years that I’ve been lucky enough to get to know her. All the movies she’s made became the reason that I wanted to make moves. Being on the inside of any movie you understand. You’ve got to oversee the whole thing and take care of the vision of the overarching film. I would trust Kathy with any of the decisions she has to make, because she’s been making them amazingly for 30-plus years.”
It's no surprise that Feige understands what Kennedy is going through, considering he has found himself in similar situations. MCU film Thor: The Dark World was originally supposed to be directed by Woman Woman's Patty Jenkins, but she stepped away and was replaced by Alan Taylor and Ant-Man was originally set to be directed by Edgar Wright for years until creative differences caused him to leave the project. Here is what Feige said about the term "creative differences" and how it does have a huge impact on the film making process:
“That’s almost always what it is. Sometimes for the press that doesn’t seem like enough. But when you’re making a movie that requires creative decisions to be made every minute of every hour of every day, that’s what it comes down to.”
Watts also commented on the "culture clash" that occurred between Lord and Miller and Kennedy, something he luckily didn't experience while directing Spider-Man: Homecoming and entering into the MCU. Here is what he said:
“I can only talk about my specific experience — I have no idea what happened on that [Han Solo] movie. If anything, I was less worried about someone kicking me off the movie as the camera crew coming out from behind the scenes and revealing this was all an elaborate prank! That would make more sense to me than the fact that I was in charge of this huge movie. I tried to be as upfront and transparent as possible from the beginning about how I saw the movie, and what I was trying to do so there would be no miscommunication along the way. If you feel like you can still see some sort of semblance of my style or personality in the movie, then that’s good.”
While everything is still up into the air regarding the Han Solo movie, fans can only hope that Kennedy and Howard can create a Star Wars movie everyone enjoys.
Next: Star Wars Has Always Had Director Problems – Why?
Source: Yahoo! Movies