Michael K. Williams dropped from Star Wars Han Solo movie due to reshoots

Reshoots of the Star Wars spin-off Han Solo movie have resulted in Michael K. Williams being dropped from the movie, it has emerged.

All the rescheduled shoots needed for the movie mean that it clashes with his commitment to forthcoming spy thriller ‘The Red Sea Diving Resort’, which is now being shot in South Africa, with Ben Kingsley and Chris Evans.

“I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with. It is what it is,” he told Deadline.

Williams, best known for his roles in HBO series ‘The Wire’ and ‘The Night Of’, worked first with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and then with Ron Howard, who was drafted in after Lord and Miller were fired from the production in June over disagreements about the direction the movie was taking.

“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,” he continued.

“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.

“I don’t think that me not being in the Star Wars family is final. 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.”

Not much is known about the character Williams played in the movie, but it’s thought to be a hybrid alien/human/animal type creature.

“We created a kick-ass character, in my opinion. I’m proud of it,” Williams concluded.

The movie is indeed set for release on May 25, 2018, with Alden Ehrenreich taking on the role of the young smuggler Han Solo, alongside Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Read more
Matt LeBlanc wants to retire
Scorsese for Joker origin story
Some Like It Hot names best comedy of all time