The Emmy-nominated actor reveals his role has been cut from the upcoming 'Star Wars' spin-off amid the reshoots which are now underway with new director Ron Howard.
- Aug 23, 2017
AceShowbiz - Han Solo movie is losing one of its stars amid reshoots. Emmy-nominated actor Michael K. Williams reveals his part in the upcoming "Star Wars" spin-off has been cut because the revamped production schedule conflicted with his schedule.
"I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with," Williams tells Deadline. "It is what it is." Williams was cast in the movie when Phil Lord and Chris Miller were still on board as directors. The directing duo exited the project in June due to creative differences. Howard was then tapped to replace them.
While plot and character details are still kept under wraps, Williams says he was cast as a half-human, half-animal in the film. He gushes, "We created a kick-ass character, in my opinion. I'm proud of it." The actor, who is best known for his portrayal of Omar Little on HBO's "The Wire", is now shooting spy thriller "Red Sea Diving Resort" in South Africa with Ben Kingsley and Chris Evans.
"When Ron Howard got hired to finish out the film, there were some reshoot issues that needed to be done in regards to my character, in order for it to match the new direction which the producers wanted Ron to carry the film in," Williams further explains. "And that would have required me on a plane a month ago to London, to Pinewood, to do reshoots. But I'm here, on location in Africa. It's scheduling. I'm not going to be back on the market until the end of November after [his SundanceTV series] 'Hap and Leonard', and for them to wait that long for me, that would have pushed back the release date, which I believe is in May 2018. They wanted me now; I couldn't go. So they had to clip-clip-clip."
Despite being cut from the movie, working on it still left good impression on Williams. "I don't think that me not being in the 'Star Wars' family is final," he says. "I left with a very good taste in my mouth about the whole family, and I hope that I left a good taste in their mouth. They're a great group of people, the Lucas family."
The untitled stand-alone Star Wars film II will see Han's life when he is 18 to 24. The movie will also explain how Han obtains his Millennium Falcon and how he meets Chewbacca. Alden Ehrenreich plays young Han Solo, Woody Harrelson portrays his mentor Beckett, Donald Glover stars as Han Solo's buddy Lando Calrissian, and Joonas Suotamo plays Chewbacca. Other cast members include Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ian Kenny and Warwick Davis.
The movie written by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan is slated to be released in the U.S. on May 25, 2018.
