Last week, the Star Wars community was shocked to hear that Han Solo directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller had been fired from the project during the middle of production. Principle photography seemed to be going well and no one expected the sudden turn of events.
Now, Lucasfilm has Ron Howard standing in as director, and a lot of Star Wars fans are both excited and relieved. Now, in an interview with Empire Online, the film maker remembers Star Wars creator George Lucas back when he was cast in American Graffiti and discusses the inception of the franchise.
"I've been around the Star Wars universe from the beginning. When I was being directed by George Lucas on American Graffiti in 1972, we were standing out in front of Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco where we were shooting and I said, 'Do you know what you think your next film might be?' And he said, 'Yeah, I want to do a science fiction movie, but a really fun one like Flash Gordon with the effects of Stanley Kubrick's 2001.' I thought, 'That sounds like a kind of crazy idea.'"
Now that he's going to work on Han Solo as its director, Howard can feel nothing but pleasure.
"So many people involved with the Star Wars franchise are friends, so it's gratifying to be able to lend my voice to the universe – coming in when it's already been in production and there is a great amount of work done."
Howard is to arrive in London later today, beginning work on Han Solo and sorting out the different material Lord and Miller left him. Though Han Solo's expected wrap-up date has been moved from July to the first week of September, we hope that the project experiences a smooth transition and that Howard can deliver the Star Wars spinoff that fans deserve.
Han Solo hits cinemas on May 25, 2018.
Read: Jar Jar Binks Wants Ron Howard To Make Him The Star Of Han Solo
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