Of all the Star Wars movies that have been released so far, there’s only one that failed to turn a profit. 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, released just five months after The Last Jedi, earned a decent amount of positive critical reception (it certainly doesn’t deserve any hate), but only ended up around $393 million worldwide. Besides chronicling the origin story of Alden Ehrenreich’s younger Han, Solo is known for the behind the scenes shakeups that led to Ron Howard taking over directing the flick from Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Howard recently reflected on his period of his professional life, describing what happened as “a shame.”
While one director being hired to replace another who drops out ahead of principal photography is hardly uncommon, Solo’s switchover from Lord and Miller to Howard occurred after the Star Wars movie had been rolling cameras for six months. In an interview with Vulture, Howard recalled how Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy arranged for him to have breakfast with Solo producer Alli Shearmur and co-writer Jon Kasdan, which led to the following:
They basically said, 'We’ve reached a creative impasse with Lord and Miller. Would you ever consider coming in?' I looked at some edited footage, and I saw what was bothering them. There was a studio that liked the script the way it was and wanted a Star Wars movie, but there was a disconnect early on tonally, and they weren’t convinced that what Phil and Chris were doing was working effectively. I couldn’t judge that because I didn’t see enough of it to know. But they were sure.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s dismissal from Solo: A Star Wars Story stemmed from creative differences, as the directing duo reportedly thought they were making a comedy movie, but Disney and Lucasfilm only wanted shades of humor. Between that, Lucasfilm not liking how Lord and Miller were frequently shooting additional takes with improvisational dialogue, and a handful of other issues, and it was ultimately decided that they were no longer a good fit for the movie. Just two days after Lord and Miller’s exit, Ron Howard was announced to be taking their place.
Though Ron Howard ultimately received sole directing credit for Solo, as he reportedly reshot about 70% of it, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were still credited as executive producers. As far as it was like on his end to take over helming duties, Howard said:
Once I said, ‘Okay, I think I can do this script, and I think I understand what you want of this script,’ they said, ‘We’d want to reshoot a lot.’ I looked at the whole movie and then pointed out some things that I thought were great. And Phil and Chris were incredibly gracious throughout that process. They were just seeing two different movies. It’s still just a shame. I can’t wait for Phil and Chris’s next movie.
Set roughly 10 years prior to the events of A New Hope, Solo: A Star Wars Story depicted major events in the title character’s life, including meeting Joonas Suotamo’s Chewbacca and Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian, and winning the Millennium Falcon. Its lineup of new characters included Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra (whom later resurfaced in the comics), Woody Harrelson’s Tobias Beckett and Paul Bettany’s Dryden Vos. Unfortunately, Solo’s dismal box office performance resulted in sequel plans being scrapped.
At least it sounds like Ron Howard had a pleasant enough time working on Solo, even though the circumstances behind his hiring were less than ideal. And hey, if Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian movie ever gets off the ground, that could easily be a platform for Alden Ehreneich to reprise Han in a supporting role.
