Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are all the rage in Hollywood following films such as their 21 Jump Street franchise and The LEGO Movie, now the duo are moving into sci-fi territory as they have signed on to direct yet another Star Wars Anthology film. this one focusing on a young Han Solo.
Walt Disney Pictures officially announced Lord and Miller will direct while Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) and his son Jon Kasdan are writing the script for a May 25, 2018 release.
The story focuses on how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley.
“This is the first film we’ve worked on that seems like a good idea to begin with,” said Miller and Lord in a press release. “We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us. This is a dream come true for us. And not the kind of dream where you’re late for work and all your clothes are made of pudding, but the kind of dream where you get to make a film with some of the greatest characters ever, in a film franchise you’ve loved since before you can remember having dreams at all.”
This film, for those of you that have been paying attention, is not the same one that was to be directed by Josh Trank (Fantastic Four), though it appears to have stepped into its release date slot. Right now The Force Awakens will be arriving this December while Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One releases December 16, 2016. Then it will be Star Wars: Episode VIII from Rian Johnson in 2017, which suggests the one-time Trank-directed film telling an origin story of the bounty hunter Boba Fett, might not arrive until 2019.
As for Lord and Miller, this probably means they will be abandoning their duties on The Flash, which they were developing as a possible directing vehicle at Warner Bros. They also have 23 Jump Street, an animated Spider-Man film and more Lego movies they are working on, but it appears the Star Wars feature will take top priority.
