Phil Lord and Chris Miller fired from Star Wars spin-off

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have disembarked from the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars spin-off movie due for release May 2018. A new director will be announced soon.

“Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm.

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew,” stated Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

After Phil Lord and Christopher Miller took to the stage at Star Wars Celebration Europe, I was really looking forward to seeing them play in the Star Wars sandpit. The directors have a deft ability to take something overtly commercial and make it fun as exemplified in The LEGO Movie.

Bizarrely, the Han Solo spin-off has been filming since January. So, perhaps there's a tonal issue between the directors and Lucasfilm? It's worth noting Richard Donner was famously fired from Superman II and that turned out OK. Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Ron Howard (Apollo 13) are frontrunners to take the helm of the troubled Star Wars production.

In related news. Colin Trevorrow's latest movie, The Book of Henry, has met with universal criticism and some fans are calling for the director to be replaced on Episode IX. Seemingly Star Wars is having growing pains at Disney. Josh Trank departed from an untitled spin-off and Gareth Edwards' Rogue One underwent extensive reshoots. The latter didn't turn out too shabby.

Who do you think should direct the Han Solo spin-off? Let me know in the comments below.

LEGO Movie directors helm Han Solo Star Wars spin-off

Star Wars spin-offs are gaining momentum with the announcement that Han Solo will be getting his own origin story in the wake of director Josh Trank's departure from the upcoming Boba Fett movie, which remains in development at Disney.

The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street franchise directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord will tell the story of how Han Solo became everyone's favourite space smuggler. This isn't the first time the directors have steered the Millennium Falcon and her beloved crew. Remember the cool cameo in The LEGO Movie?

Here's the official blurb from StarWars.com:

"The next adventure in the Anthology series of Star Wars films will be directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, whose credits include the critically acclaimed The LEGO Movie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, as well as 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street. Among the most sought-after filmmakers working today, the two have proven a formidable duo on the multiple films they've collaborated on and are looking forward to applying their unique creative chemistry to the Star Wars universe."

Slated for a May 25, 2018 release, the film will be executive produced by Lawrence Kasdan and Jason McGatlin and co-produced by Will Allegra.

LEGO Dimensions brings toys-to-life in September

Activision's Skylanders ignited the toy-to-life craze and Disney and Nintendo followed with Infinity and Amiibo respectively. Now there's LEGO Dimensions vying for your living room space.

“When kids play with Lego bricks, they build beyond the singular brands, intermixing all of their favourite characters and universes, and we have come up with a way for players to experience that in games,” said Jon Burton, creative director of developer, TT Games, in a press release. “Now for the first time in a videogame, Lego fans can play in the virtual world and in the real world – combining everything without restrictions.”

“Imagine putting Lego Gollum from The Lord of the Rings behind the wheel of the Lego Delorean in New Ninjago City – the creative play is endless.”

A $99.99 "Starter Pack" will launch on September 27th in the US (September 29th in the UK) for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and Wii U. The game leverages LEGO's original and licensed properties including Back to the Future, The Lord of the Rings and DC Comics. Doubtlessly Harry Potter will join the fray in a future update.

Given Marvel and Star Wars are both owned by Disney, there may be a conflict of interest bringing those characters to LEGO's toys-to-life franchise. This does pose a compelling question. What if you could scan a custom LEGO minifig into the game? May be Boba Fett's helmet on Iron Man's body holding Darth Maul's infamous double-bladed lightsaber.

Will you be trading-in your Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Amiibo collections for LEGO Dimensions this September? Let me know in the comments below.