It’s been an interesting night in the Star Wars universe. As of this morning, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are no longer directing the Han Solo prequel movie.

This was a shock to us. It was also, apparently, a shock to Lord and Miller, who had relocated to London along with their families for the duration of production.

As is always the case, the they said/they said is flying thick and fast. The one story that does seem to ring true is that they were let go because of a clash between their improvisational style and the far stricter approach taken by produced Lawrence Kasdan. There’s also an implication that they were playing the character directly for laughs, rather than as the more nuanced, subtle wiseass we all know him to be.

The truth is, we don’t know what happened. The truth is, we may never know what happened.

What we do know is a depressingly familiar list of names is already being bandied about to take over. We don’t have a problem with Ron Howard or Joe Johnston, they’ve produced some of our favorite movies. But to bring in a ‘safe’ pair of hands like that flies in the face of what’s already been done with the new Star Wars movies and their commitment to up and coming directors.

More on this as it develops and thanks to Variety for the initial story. In the meantime, we wonder if Patty Jenkins fancies a quick trip to Corellia in between visits to Themyscira?