Donald Glover reveals he did not have to reshoot much of his performance as Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story when Ron Howard took over the troubled production. As many know, the spinoff generated substantial controversy last summer when Kathleen Kennedy fired original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller with only a few weeks to go in principal photography. In came the Oscar-winner Howard, and by all accounts there was significant retooling done. The Beautiful Mind helmsman oversaw filming from June to October, with reports suggesting he redid 80 percent of the movie .

This unprecedented situation, coupled with a general lack of enthusiasm about a young Han Solo prequel, has placed Solo in a rather precarious situation. Fans are still waiting for the first trailer , which hopefully will shift the conversation to a much more positive place. In the meantime, those involved with the project are doing all they can to keep morale high, talking about what a great experience they had while shooting.


While on the Television Critics Association press tour (hat tip /Film ), Glover was asked about his time on Solo. He briefly addressed concerns about the film (calling it “a dream” and “really cool”), while also detailing an inventive Millennium Falcon shot that’s never been done in the previous Star Wars movies. Glover also touched on the reshoots, saying he didn’t have much to do there:

“Not a ton actually. Not a lot at all, at least not for me. I think we’ve all never been faced with anything like that and I think he did a good job of coming and tell us he didn’t want to change what we were doing at all. He wanted us to remain confident in our vision. He just wanted to sculpt it in a way.”

As Glover indicates, these comments are in relation to his individual role instead of the overall film itself. He wrapped on Solo back in August 2017 , while Howard finished production two months later . Recently, co-star Paul Bettany shared Lucasfilm gave Howard more reshoots than initially planned when they became impressed with his approach (something the director’s behind-the-scenes photo gallery all but confirmed). With that in mind, it appears other members of the Solo cast were more heavily involved with the additional photography. Chief among those actors would be Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo who reportedly needed an acting coach to better his performance. If the studio really had concerns about his interpretation of the iconic smuggler (which will make or break the movie), it makes sense they’d dedicate extra resources to make sure they got it “right” under the veteran Howard.

The first Star Wars anthology, Rogue One , also saw extensive reshoots and earned positive reviews en route to a $1 billion worldwide gross. Lucasfilm is obviously hoping for similar results with Solo, but they have their work cut out for them. A little more than four months from release, there are still no official marketing materials – a fact that’s concerned a portion of the fan base. In due time, however, the advertising campaign will start up, and if the studio’s track record is anything to go by, they’ll get people excited with well-cut previews and stunning posters. Considering the competition Solo will face at the box office, it’s going to need all the help it can get.