Han Solo movie cast photo
Donald Glover(far right) with his co-stars and former directors. Lucasfilm

Donald Glover has spoken publicly for the first time about the dramatic departure of Phil Lord and Chris Miller as directors of the upcoming Star Wars spin-off movie about a young Han Solo, in which the actor plays Lando Calrissian.

The pair left the project in June, partway through filming the major blockbuster, due to creative differences with LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy. They were quickly replaced with Oscar winner Ron Howard.

"Ron is such a legend," Glover told The Hollywood Reporter, "and he knows exactly what the vision for what he is doing is... [but Phil and Chris] hired us, so you sort of feel like, 'I know I'm not your first choice...' And you worry about that."

Glover, known for his careers in acting, music and comedy, stars in the film opposite Alden Ehrenreich (in the role made famous by Harrison Ford), Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Thandie Newton.

"To be honest, I don't know exactly what happened," Glover went on to say.

"I feel like I was the baby in the divorce, or the youngest child. The oldest child is like, 'We know what's happening, but we are keeping you out of it.' And I'm just like, 'Was that scene good? How did you feel?'"

Howard took over production three-quarters of the way through the film's shoot at Pinewood Studios, with the option to shoot new scenes and assert his creative freedom on the film after the departure of Lord and Miller.

He quickly got to work, and has since shared numerous behind-the-scenes snaps on Instagram.

The interview also reveals that Glover wore a disguise (a fake nose and sunglasses) when he met Billy Dee Williams – the actor who originally played Calrissian in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi.

"He just let me ramble on and on, and then finally I was like, 'So, what do you think?' And he goes, 'Yeah, I don't know about all that. Just be charming'," Glover said of the meeting.

Glover isn't the first of the film's stars to speak publicly about the change. Harrelson told Uproxx in July, "Ron is great. He's awesome. He's such a gentleman and so prepared. And I loved Chris and Phil. But I think we did land in very capable hands. Obviously, the Force is with us."

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