Looking back over a remarkable career, laden with box office receipts, awards and a lot of good will, Ron Howard touches on his Star Wars experience, specifically his time in the GFFA stepping in to helm Solo: A Star Wars Story, an experience that required a delicate touch in regards to the outgoing Phil Lord and Chris Miller but one with regrets that the film didn’t find the audience it clearly deserved.
Howard also weathered disappointing box office returns for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Although it received generally favorable reviews, it grossed just $393.2 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing live-action Star Wars film in the franchise and the first to lose money for Disney. “There’s a lot I really love about Solo, and yet it didn’t hit the zeitgeist when it came to the market. Damn,” says Howard ruefully.
He took on Solo helming duties after the 2017 firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller over “creative differences” with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, when about 70 percent of the film was finished, and he felt he could help complete the movie to Lucasfilm’s — and fans’ — expectations. “I’ve been around Star Wars forever,” Howard says. “He didn’t have a title for it at the time, but while we were shooting American Graffiti, George Lucas described what he hoped his next movie would be. And he described Star Wars, and I’ve always been a fan, yet those projects take about three years, and it never made sense for me.”
Taking over for another director is a feat in itself, but taking over a Star Wars film more than halfway through is whole other battle. “I understood that this difference had created a schism to the point where they weren’t going to be able to go on working together, and that was really unfortunate because I like Phil and Chris, and I also really admire them. When I looked at the footage and read the script, which I liked, I felt like I understood what it was that the studio and Lucasfilm were looking for in finishing the movie and reshooting some of the movie, and in a few places, I thought of reconceiving a few scenes, which they were open to. I had some really comforting conversations with Phil and Chris, who let me know that they weren’t leaving because I was coming in. For me, it was an absolute exercise in professionalism and friendship, and it indirectly led to a season of Willow, which we’re doing now [with] Jonathan Kasdan.”
You’ll be able to see Ron and Solo writer Lawrence Kasdan on stage at Celebration Anaheim discussing Kasdan’s docuseries Light and Magic. Could a Solo 2 announcement, or further Solo adventures on Disney Plus be on the cards? We’ll have to wait and see.
