3. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
It’s not easy to say for certain whether studio interference was actually what ruined Solo: A Star Wars Story. The film isn’t even that bad – most wouldn’t even describe it as the worst film in the franchise. Still, it’s considered divisive at best, and the studio certainly contributed to its heavily-criticized blandness.
The film’s original directors – Phil Lord and Christopher Miller of The Lego Movie – envisioned the film as an action-comedy and reportedly encouraged actors to improvise to that end. However, Disney were uncomfortable with their approach and vetoed the idea. Though it’s not clear if Lord and Miller were fired or chose to leave, they were swiftly replaced by Ron Howard after spending four months making the film.
The result was ultimately what Disney wanted: a safer, adventure-based story with no real comedy in sight. It was enjoyable enough, if a little dull, but most rightly considered it unworthy of representing such iconic characters. Though it’s still an entertaining movie, it certainly sounds like it might have been better had the studio not gotten so heavily involved.