One of Hollywood’s most tantalizing “what if” stories just got a fresh coat of paint — and it stings a little more now. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the directing duo behind The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street, were famously fired from the Solo: A Star Wars Story production in 2017. Their version of that film was never completed, never released, and has lived in the imagination of film fans ever since. Now, with their science fiction adaptation Project Hail Mary generating serious buzz, a lot of people are asking the same question: what exactly did we lose when Lucasfilm showed them the door?
It’s the kind of question that only gets louder when a filmmaker proves themselves in a big way. And based on what’s being said about Project Hail Mary, Lord and Miller may be on the verge of delivering one of the most acclaimed science fiction films in years.
What Lord and Miller Are Doing With Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary is an adaptation of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel of the same name — the same author behind The Martian. The film stars Ryan Gosling and has been positioned as one of the most anticipated releases of 2026. Lord and Miller are directing, and early reactions have pointed to it being a deeply human, emotionally resonant science fiction story — the kind that blends genuine wonder with sharp wit.
That combination — heart, humor, and intelligence — is essentially the Lord and Miller signature. It’s what made The LEGO Movie far better than anyone expected, and it’s what made their abrupt departure from Solo feel so jarring at the time. They bring something genuinely distinct to genre filmmaking. Watching that sensibility applied to a prestige sci-fi project makes it easy to imagine what their Star Wars film might have felt like.
The Solo Firing — What Actually Happened
Lord and Miller were hired to direct Solo: A Star Wars Story, a standalone origin film for Han Solo, with Alden Ehrenreich in the lead role. Production began in early 2017. By June of that year, they were gone — removed by Lucasfilm with Ron Howard stepping in to complete the film.
Reports at the time pointed to creative differences, specifically tensions over improvisational approaches to performance and concerns from producer Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan about the tone and direction of the film. Ron Howard ultimately reshot a significant portion of the movie. The final version of Solo was released in May 2018 to a mixed reception and a disappointing box office performance.
What Lord and Miller’s version would have looked like remains one of cinema’s great unanswered questions. No footage has ever been officially released. No director’s cut exists in any public form.
Why Project Hail Mary Makes the Loss Feel Bigger
There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes from watching a filmmaker do something brilliant and knowing a version of that brilliance was taken away from you. That’s the feeling Project Hail Mary is stirring up for a lot of Star Wars fans.
Lord and Miller’s filmography shows a consistent ability to take material that sounds like it shouldn’t work — a movie about a toy building block, a remake of a forgotten TV show, an animated Spider-Man film — and turn it into something emotionally complex and technically inventive. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which they produced, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2019 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest animated films ever made.
A Han Solo film directed by them, leaning into irreverence and character-driven energy, could have been something genuinely special. Instead, the franchise got a safer, more conventional version that struggled to connect with audiences.
| Project | Lord & Miller Role | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| The LEGO Movie (2014) | Directors | Critical and commercial hit |
| 21 Jump Street (2012) | Directors | Surprise hit, launched franchise |
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) | Producers | Academy Award winner, critically acclaimed |
| Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) | Fired during production | Mixed reception, box office disappointment |
| Project Hail Mary (2026) | Directors | Highly anticipated, strong early buzz |
What Star Wars Lost — And What It Still Could Find
The broader Star Wars franchise has spent years searching for a creative identity beyond the Skywalker saga. Numerous announced films have been developed, announced, and quietly shelved. The brand has leaned heavily on television, with mixed results. A genuinely distinctive theatrical Star Wars film — one with a clear directorial voice — has proven elusive.
Lord and Miller represented exactly that kind of voice. Their instinct to subvert expectations while still delivering on emotional beats is rare. It’s the kind of filmmaking that can make a franchise feel alive rather than mechanical. The fact that their collaboration with Lucasfilm ended the way it did is, in hindsight, a significant missed opportunity — not just for one film, but potentially for what the franchise could have become.
Whether Lucasfilm ever revisits a conversation with them is unknown. But with Project Hail Mary arriving and reminding audiences of exactly what Lord and Miller are capable of, the appetite for that conversation is only going to grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were Lord and Miller fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story?
Reports indicated creative differences with Lucasfilm, including tensions over improvisational performance styles and disagreements over tone with producer Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.
Who replaced Lord and Miller on Solo?
Director Ron Howard stepped in to complete the film, reportedly reshooting a significant portion of the production.
What is Project Hail Mary about?
It is an adaptation of Andy Weir’s science fiction novel of the same name, starring Ryan Gosling, directed by Lord and Miller, and released in 2026.
Will we ever see Lord and Miller’s version of Solo?
No official footage or cut has ever been released publicly, and this has not been confirmed as something Lucasfilm plans to make available.
What other major projects have Lord and Miller been involved in?
They directed The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street, and produced Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2019.
How did Solo perform at the box office?
Solo: A Star Wars Story was released in May 2018 and was considered a disappointment both critically and commercially relative to expectations for the franchise.
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