Emmy-nominatedMichael K. Williamsis one of those rare actors who steals the scene every single time he’s in front of the camera. The first time seeing him perform invariably leads to looking Williams up on IMDb or asking fellow cinephiles and TV junkies about him, followed by the realization that he killed it inThe Wire,Boardwalk Empire,The Night Of, andHap and Leonard, not to mention numerous movie and TV roles over the years. However, Williams' fans who were looking forward to seeing his character in the upcomingStar Warsfilm,A Star Wars Story: Untitled Han Solo Film, will have to wait until the Blu-ray arrives in order to scour the Deleted Scenes.
AsDeadlinereports, Williams' role in theHan Solofilm has apparently been cut as a casualty of the film’s reshoots.Ron Howardstepped in to direct the film afterPhil LordandChristopher Millerparted ways with the production. Now, a new schedule for reshoots has come into conflict with Williams' own plans: He is currently shooting writer-directorGideon Raff’sThe Red Sea Diving Resortin South Africa along withBen KingsleyandChris Evans.
Here’s exactly what Williams told Deadline (and do yourself a favor an read it in his voice because that’s just the best possible way to do it):
“I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with. It is what it is … When Ron Howard got hired to finish out the film, there were some reshoot issues that needed to be done in regards to my character, in order for it to match the new direction which the producers wanted Ron to carry the film in, and that would have required me on a plane a month ago to London, to Pinewood, to do reshoots. But I’m here, on location in Africa. It’s scheduling. I’m not going to be back on the market until the end of November afterHap and Leonard, and for them to wait that long for me, that would have pushed back the release date, which I believe is in May 2018. They wanted me now; I couldn’t go. So they had to clip-clip-clip.”
Williams' “kick-ass character” would have been a half-human, half-animal sort, but no other plot or character details are available, in part because there’s a chance the character could still pop up down the road:
“I don’t think that me not being in theStar Warsfamily is final. I left with a very good taste in my mouth about the whole family, and I hope that I left a good taste in their mouth. They’re a great group of people, the Lucas family.”
That Lucas family will welcomeEmilia Clarke,Alden Ehrenreich, andDonald Glover, among others, when theHan Solofilm debuts July 09, 2025. Hopefully we’ll get a glimpse of Williams on the eventual Blu-ray!
