Star Wars: Controversy shows disturbance in the Force

After sacking two directors, Lucasfilm has now hired an acting coach for Han Solo's main star. I've got a bad feeling about this.

When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise for more than $4bn seven years ago, George Lucas said he felt like he had just sold his life's work to "white slavers".

Apparently, the visionary director had a few ideas on how the next trilogy should pan out, and even got them in writing to show them to Disney.

But the studio giant wanted none of it, and opted to buy him out instead.

"They looked at the stories and they said: 'We want to make something for the fans,'" Lucas said.

"I said: 'All I want to do is tell a story.' They weren't that keen to have me involved anyway," he added.

"They're not going to do what I want them to do. And I don't have the control to do that anymore."

These were his last words on the subject, and never have they echoed so strongly across the industry.

Last week, Lucasfilm - now a subsidiary of Disney - decided to sack the directing duo behind the new Han Solo spin-off , halfway through production.

According the studio, Phil Lord and Chris Miller's comedic tones weren't in line with the vision Lucasfilm has for the franchise.

They weren't the droids they were looking for. And the troubles didn't stop there.

On Monday, reports emerged that Lucasfilm had also hired an acting coach for Hollywood star Alden Ehrenreich, the young actor to play Han Solo.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, they weren't "entirely satisfied" with Ehrenreich's performance. The strange thing is that they only realised it halfway through production.

And this isn't the only Star Wars film which has been embroiled in controversy.

Director Rian Johnson, the man behind the upcoming Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, reportedly clashed with both the studio and actor Mark Hamill over the direction his character Luke Skywalker was taking.

"I pretty much fundamentally disagree with every choice you've made for this character," Hamill was quoted saying.

Johnson maintains he has "full creative control".

If that is the case, he is the only director who managed to fight Lucasfilm without getting sacked or having to re-shoot the entire film.

Both The Force Awakens and Rogue One were plagued by reports of endless re-shoots because Disney wasn't happy with the result.

The result was two half-hearted films made with the clear intent of extending the franchise and milking a dying cow.

In an age of sequels, prequels, spin-offs and extended universes, it's not unheard of that big studios make every effort to squeeze more money out of an idea.

But unlike Marvel or DC, Lucasfilm has shown an effort to hire indie directors with an auteurish approach and little to no experience directing a blockbuster.

At first, that seemed like a good thing.

Looper's Rian Johnson to direct The Last Jedi, Monsters' Gareth Edwards to take over Rogue One, The Lego Movie's Phil Lord and Chris Miller for Han Solo and, the indiest of them all, Safety Not Guaranteed's Colin Trevorrow for Episode IX.

But by replacing Lord and Miller with Ron Howard , Disney has shown its true colours.

Howard is a Hollywood henchman, in his golden years, unlikely to clash with the studio. More than that, he is good friends with Lawrence Kasdan.

Kasdan wrote many of the Star Wars films, acts as executive producer, and is known to hold considerable sway over the franchise.

He disliked the way Lord and Miller were leaving their brand in a trademarked product, and it was he who prevented Edwards to make Rogue One a darker, more interesting film.

Personally, not only do I find this lack of faith disturbing, but sense a deep, lingering disturbance which I fear could ruin Star Wars forever.

For The Last Jedi to succeed, Rian Johnson has to follow George Lucas' advise and "just tell a story". It's our only hope.