‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ – Ron Howard On Why He Came On To Direct.

When Lord and Miller were fired from directing the upcoming Star Wars Han Solo stand-alone film for Disney and Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy had Ron Howard slated as their replacement within 2 days. In a new interview with EW, Howard is now talking about why he decided to come on board. As it turns out, it wasn’t a project that he jumped on, but rather one that he stepped into rather reluctantly.

“I know Chris and Phil. They’re incredibly talented guys, and all anyone at Imagine Entertainment wants to do is find a way to work with Chris and Phil, and that’s every bit as much the case today as ever. But when I learned that this change was happening, it just came in a moment where I was working on lots of new projects for Imagine, and I had not planned to direct anything last year. So then this came my way, and I was talking to Kathy, and the now tragically late Alli Shearmur, an old friend. I was reluctant, but I also began to feel that I could help.”

It’s disappointing that any company ever feels like they have to make a change like that. It’s rough on everybody and disappointing for everybody, and I’ve just tried to come in and — of course, Phil and Chris’s fingerprints are all over the movie, given how much they put into it and the time they put into it. I hope fans won’t even think about how the movie was made. They should just lose themselves in it.

Source: EW