Solo: A Star Wars Story is almost here, but people are still talking about what happened behind-the-scenes during the film's production. Now, Ron Howard has opened up about why he chose to be the one to take the reins of the project. It had to have been a difficult decision, as people were certainly going to be curious about the guy who took over when Phil Lord and Chris Miller stepped aside, and Howard says it was all the more delicate because he knew the guys he was replacing, but ultimately, the job fit into his schedule, and Howard wanted to help out a couple people at Lucasfilm who he considered friends. According to the director...
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 obviously wasn't a simple choice to make. Ron Howard clearly understood the magnitude of taking over a partially completed film. Everything previously had been done one way, and he would, simply by being somebody else, do things differently. Phil Lord and Chris Miller have their fans and those people were looking forward to seeing the pair do for Star Wars what they had done for plastic LEGO bricks. Even if Howard was given the benefit of the doubt, there would still be some disappointed fans.
For what it's worth, Entertainment Weekly reports that Ron Howard "made peace" with the men he was replacing. That likely helped Howard feel like taking on the job was the right thing to do. In the end, though, it seems like Howard just wanted to help. He was old friends with George Lucas and was also friends with producer Alli Shearmur. Howard wanted to help out his friend and he was in a position to do so. If he hadn't done it, somebody would have.
Ron Howard has said that he hopes fans won't worry about how much of the movie is "his" as opposed to work done by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Hopefully, most fans will be able to do just that, as Howard's goal in taking over was simply to help the movie get made. we'll get to see trhe final product of Solo: A Star Wars Story on May 25.
