DGA Loophole Could Result in a Phil Lord and Chris Miller Director's Cut of The HAN SOLO Film

It's been a crazy week in the world of Star Wars since Lucasfilm announced the departure of Han Solo spinoff directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Ron Howard has since been brought on to finalize the film, but it's still unclear who will get the credit when the titles roll.

Regardless of that, Lord and Miller might actually get to complete a form of the film for themselves, thanks to a Directors Guild of America rule. Comicbook.com points out the unique loophole:

The union that protects directors rights on film productions states that “a director who is replaced after directing ninety percent (90 percent) but less than one hundred percent (100 percent) of the scheduled principal photography of any motion picture shall be the Director of the film entitled to all the post-production creative rights set forth.”

So, if Lord and Miller technically finished shooting more than 90% of the film, which is a possibility, knowing that there were only 3 weeks of production remaining, they will be able to complete a Directors’ Cut.

The DGA rule states:

“No one shall be allowed to interfere with the director of the film during the period of the Director’s Cut. There shall be no ‘cutting behind’ the Director as that term is commonly understood in the motion picture industry.”

That may be good news for them, but even if they completed a director's cut, there is no rule that mandates Disney and Lucasfilm make it available to the public. So even if they made a director's cut nobody would ever see it.

The Ron Howard helmed Han Solo is still scheduled to hit theaters on May 25, 2018.