Ron Howard recently revealed more behind-the-scenes details about the creative clashes on Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The 2018 Han Solo origin movie underwent massive changes midway into filming as Lucasfilm decided to fire Phil Lord and Chris Miller as directors and replace them with Howard. While the reception was mostly positive among fans and audiences when it was released, its box office performance was tepid as it failed to be on the same level as the other movies, and the behind-the-scenes drama affected the public's perception.
Why Ron Howard Was Hired to Take Over as Director of Solo: A Star Wars Story?
In an interview with Vulture, Howard opened up about the moment that Lucasfilm asked him to take over as director of Solo: A Star Wars Story after reviewing the footage that Lord and Miller shot.
"They basically said, ‘We’ve reached a creative impasse with Lord and Miller. Would you ever consider coming in?' I looked at some edited footage, and I saw what was bothering them," he recalled.
"There was a studio that liked the script the way it was and wanted a Star Wars movie, but there was a disconnect early on tonally, and they weren’t convinced that what Phil and Chris were doing was working effectively."
Howard still praised Lord and Miller's work in the movie, and he believes that some of their footage were "great" despite the creative clashes.
"I couldn’t judge that because I didn’t see enough of it to know. But they were sure. Once I said, ‘Okay, I think I can do this script, and I think I understand what you want of this script,’ they said, ‘We’d want to reshoot a lot.’ I looked at the whole movie and then pointed out some things that I thought were great," he said.
"And Phil and Chris were incredibly gracious throughout that process. They were just seeing two different movies. So I came in, I had a blast, but there’s nothing personal about that film whatsoever. It’s still just a shame. I can’t wait for Phil and Chris’s next movie."
Howard also consulted with George Lucas, who gave simple advice for directing a Star Wars movie: "Just don’t forget — it’s for 12-year-old boys."
Will We See More of Alden Ehrenreich's Han Solo in Future Star Wars Projects?
So far, Lucasfilm has no plans to continue Alden Ehrenreich's tenure as young Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise after the events of Solo.
In an interview last year, the actor expressed interest in playing the character again in the future, as long as it would be the "right version" of him.
"If it's the right version of it. It was such a fun character, and the story that I did was kind of like the making of Han Solo," he said.
"So, I got to really be the like the Han Solo we know and love in the last bit of the movie. If it was the right thing, it would be fun to play him and be the guy in that way.
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