In light of all of the hullaballoo around the behind-the-scenes drama thatSolohas weathered, starAlden Ehrenreichis speaking out to set the record straight. In an interview withEsquire, Ehrenreich first addressed some of the controversy around the ousting ofSolo’s original directors,Phil LordandChristopher Miller, explaining their approach to the material:
“From the first screen test on, we played around with it a lot. We tried a lot of different things, rethinking behind the scenes. That was yielding a different movie than the other factions wanted. I knew what I was doing, but in terms of what that adds up to, you’re so in the dark as an actor. You don’t know what it’s shaping up to be, how they’re editing it, so it’s kind of impossible without having seen those things to know what the difference [of opinion] was, or exactly what created those differences.”
That method was one thatwasn’t preferredby Lucasfilm’sKathleen Kennedy, though Ehrenreich suggests to Esquire that he had no idea things were as bad as was later reported. “The actors are at the kids’ table, unless you’re also a producer of the movie. So you’re really kept out of all the backroom dynamics of what was going on,” he said. Ehrenreich also mentions that he personally had a good relationship with the directors, and that their leaving was emotional — and that there is no truth to the rumor that the cast and crew broke into applause when the announcement of Lord and Miller’s departure was made:“That’s bullshit. For a crew to do that would mean they hated [Lord and Miller], which was not by any stretch the case.”
As for all of that talk of him having an acting coach brought in, Ehrenreich clarified that, “[Writer-director Maggie Kiley] was part of conversations that happened for a couple weeks at one point, but that was basically it.” Also, that Kiley was a resource for the entire cast.
Ehrenreich was also quick to praise newSolodirectorRon Howardfor righting the ship, explaining how Howard was able to get everyone enthusiast about the movie again after so much turmoil
“Everybody’s hackles are raised a bit, and Ron had this ability to come in and deal with morale and get everybody enthusiastic about, A, what we’d already shot, because I think his feeling was that a lot of what we’d already done was really good, and, B, the direction for the next piece of it. He knew how to navigate a tricky situation, and almost from the first or second day everybody pretty quickly recharged and got excited again about the movie.”
Finally, Ehrenreich also mentioned that he hadsigned on for three films, then stating, “I don’t know if that’s officially, uh, public. But — yeah.” It opens the door (unsurprisingly) for more prequel-sequels, though it’s worth keeping in mind thatRogue One’sFelicity Jonesalso signed on for three films when she was making that movie, even though a direct sequel is not happening.
