Star Wars fans have become accustomed to cinematic reshufflings in the years since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. But even before the sequel trilogy concluded, there were hints that Lucasfilm’s confident plans were subject to shake-ups. There were the notorious reshoots attached to 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but even more dramatically, there was the director switcheroo that happened with 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. In a new interview, Ron Howard talked about being hired as a replacement on the film.
Speaking to Vulture in a piece that examines his long career, he said it all happened sort of casually. Howard didn’t have a next project set up yet; in fact, he was on vacation when Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy invited him “to breakfast” with Solo co-writer Jonathan Kasdan and co-producer Allison Shearmur. There was a motive to this meal, he recalled.
“They basically said, “We’ve reached a creative impasse with [Phil] Lord and [Christopher] Miller. Would you ever consider coming in?”
The next step, Howard said, involved watching some of the edited footage from Solo. “I saw what was bothering them. 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 said. “I couldn’t judge that because I didn’t see enough of it to know. But they were sure.”
When Howard agreed to come aboard, he said, “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 revealed he chatted with his pal George Lucas while he was still mulling over the gig and got some telling advice: “He wasn’t active on the films, but he said, “Just don’t forget—it’s for 12-year-old boys.”
Head to Vulture to read the full interview, including a section where Howard said he “wouldn’t do a slasher movie” but is open to bringing more supernatural elements into his filmography, preferably in the form of a “contemporary sci-fi fantasy, like Cocoon or Her or The Shape of Water.”