Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are right at the top of the list of Hollywood’s hottest directors. They first paired-up on 2009’s Sony Pictures Animation comedy “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. Then they re-teamed for the TV to film adaptation of “21 Jump Street”, starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill (and featuring a Johnny Depp cameo). Both films were warmly embraced by critics and audiences.
But their careers skyrocketed last year, first with the animated powerhouse “The LEGO Movie” – which shockingly did not receive a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination (easily one of the Top 5 Oscar nod snubs of the 21st Century). Just four months later, “22 Jump Street” came-out. I honestly don’t know how these two were able to work on two films simultaneously, but they somehow pulled it off, as “22” was even funnier than “21”.
Now Lord and Miller have been tapped to direct a Han Solo anthology movie for Disney, set to open in May 2018. “Star Wars” fans online seem to be pretty jacked-up by the announcement. There are rumors online that Chris Pratt is the frontrunner to play Solo (Lord and Miller did direct him in “LEGO”). But think about it: with this being the story of a youthful, troublemaking Solo, pre-Mos Eisley Cantina, clearly Pratt is too old for the part. Hopefully L&M won’t get tempted to pick Pratt based on his current popularity. Besides, he could sign-on to the on-again/off-again “Indiana Jones” reboot project any day now, which is a much more suited former Harrison Ford role for the “Parks and Rec” star.
The directing duo has made it clear they are not helming “The LEGO Movie Sequel” (but staying on as producers), and plans for “23 Jump Street”, which they’ve committed to, may have to be put on hold, which may turn out to be a blessing. It would be tough to top “22”. Not every movie series needs to be a trilogy. Though it might be tough to convince “Star Wars” fans of that.