Entertainment Weekly just ran a story about how producers are becoming more powerful than directors with movie franchises. Lord/Miller are just the latest directors to be fired.
The Han Solo movie still needs to feel like a Star Wars movie and fit within that universe which Kennedy needs to coordinate therefore their creativity is going to be very limited.
from ET article:
"Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige, among others, have elevated the role of producer into an artistic one, mapping out overarching and interconnected story lines not just for one film but for entire extended universes. They have often come to supplant the director as the dominant force in the filmmaking process, telling the stories while the directors execute them.
In a way, movies are adapting a model pioneered in TV. Think of the creative ambition of executive producers Shonda Rhimes on Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder, or Ryan Murphy bringing his twisted sensibility to American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and Feud. Rhimes and Murphy are brands, and few would disagree that they’re artists.
...So where does this leave directors? Those who succeed in this new model can adapt to a franchise’s existing tone and still maintain their creative freedom. James Gunn, for example, did just that with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. It’s also why J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Rian Johnson (Looper), writer-director of the next Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, have had little trouble thriving in the Lucasfilm atmosphere.
Sources close to Lord and Miller tell EW that the duo came aboard the Solo movie expecting to make “a Phil and Chris film.” But when it comes to the Star Wars universe, the one who wields the Force is Kathleen Kennedy."
Full article link:
http://ew.com/movies/2017/06/28/marvel-lucasfilm-is-the-age-of-the-director-over/
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