Video: Ron Howard on Directing Solo: A Star Wars Story

Video: Ron Howard on Directing Solo: A Star Wars Story

Ron Howard has a long history with George Lucas and Lucasfilm. He worked with Uncle George on American Graffiti and heard the first pitch for the space opera while on set. Then the two worked together again on Willow in 1988. So it seemed natural that one day Ron Howard might take the helm of a Star Wars film. However, it didn’t happen. George Lucas offered The Phantom Menace to Howard and he gracefully declined. So it seemed as though Star Wars and Ron Howard would not cross paths again.

Flash forward to 2017. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had just been let go from Solo: A Star Wars Story late in the production and Kathleen Kennedy was looking for a new director. In an unexpected move, Ron Howard stepped in. Taking on a Star Wars movie would have been intimidating for any director, yet Howard, who had already turned down a directing gig, took the helm of the starship that appeared to be heading for disaster.

I spoke with Ron Howard shortly after the premiere and was able to ask him about coming on board the production, George Lucas’ reaction to the final product, and more.

Solo: A Star Wars Story makes the jump to light speed in a high-octane adventure that navigates the perils of a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, forges new friendships that will last a lifetime, and reveals untold secrets from the hidden past of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes. Han Solo meets loyal co-pilot Chewbacca and notorious gambler Lando Calrissian for the first time, bound by a desperate mission against impossible odds that will help shape the irresistible scoundrel audiences have come to love.

Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Hail, Caesar‘s Alden Ehrenreich as Han, with Atlanta‘s Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and The Force Awakens‘ Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. Woody Harrelson is playing Han’s mentor, a man by the name of Beckett, while Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke, Westworld‘s Thandie Newton, Avengers‘ Paul Bettany, and Fleabag‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge also star.

The film is produced by Lucasfilm‘s Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel. Lawrence Kasdan, Jason McGatlin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are the executive producers. Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay.

Solo: A Star Wars Story opens in U.S. theaters on May 25, 2018.

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