Getty Allison Shearmur
Although the new Han Solo movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story, doesn’t have an end credits scene, it does have a dedication. The movie is dedicated to Allison Shearmur.
That has a lot of people wondering: Who was Allison Shearmur and why was Solo dedicated to her? She was a producer. LucasFilm posted a statement remembering her in January 2018 that provides details of her significance to the organization. This is what the organization wrote:
Allison Shearmur passed away on Friday, January 19. She was a producer on Rogue One and Solo, along with many, many other films and TV projects, including the Bourne franchise and the Hunger Games series. She was an incredible creative force in the movie industry, known and respected by all with whom she worked. And for us, she was more than just a great producer — she was a beloved member of the Lucasfilm family. She was our Alli.
Alli was just 54 at the time of her passing, an age that feels far too young for someone so gifted and giving, who had so much more left to do. We’re grateful for everything she brought to Star Wars and into our lives, which were all made richer and brighter through her. Her independent, positive spirit will live on in her beautiful children Imogen and Anthony, and with her husband Edward. We miss her deeply.
What was Shearmur’s cause of death? According to her obituary in The New York Times, she died of lung cancer. According to The New York Times obit, Shearmur learned she had lung cancer in 2016 but continued working on Star Wars movies. Her husband told the newspaper that she “didn’t want to be defined by her disease.”
(L-R front row) Producer Allison Shearmur, actors Mads Mikkelsen, Riz Ahmed, Felicity Jones, Alan Tudyk and Donnie Yen (back row) Walt Disney Studios President Alan Bergman, Screenwriter Chris Weitz, Executive producer John Knoll, director Gareth Edwards, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, Alan Horn, producer Kathleen Kennedy, actor Ben Mendelsohn, Executive producer Jason McGatlin, Composer Michael Giacchino, producer Simon Emanuel and The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, attends The World Premiere of Lucasfilm’s highly anticipated, first-ever, standalone Star Wars adventure, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” at the Pantages Theatre on December 10, 2016 in Hollywood, California.
The Times reported that Shearmur worked over the years for Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Lionsgate, holding prominent positions at the studios in things like feature film production She was involved in movies like Erin Brockovich and American Pie.
Shearmur worked on Solo even has she was being treated for her cancer. In fact, her husband told the Times that she attended a Solo visual effects meeting the day before she died.
When Shearmur died, Ron Howard, who directed Solo, tweeted out a tribute to the producer, writing, “A tragic loss. My heart goes out to Alli’s family whom she adored. Alli was an important colleague & friend over many years who never backed away from any challenge but at all times was both powerfully effective & graciously humanistic. RIP.”
Producer Allison Shearmur attends the Premiere of Screen Gems’ “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” on January 21, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
She attended law school and the University of Pennsylvania. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Shearmur got her start in Hollywood at that university when she won a contest to have lunch with a Columbia Pictures producer. Shearmur was a quadruplet, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The concept of an end credits surprise at the end of movies was mostly popularized by the Marvel franchise. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which featured Carrie Fisher’s swan song, also carried a dedication. It was a single sentence tribute to Princess Leia. The Leia/Carrie Fisher tribute reads simply: “In loving memory of our princess, Carrie Fisher.”