The Star Wars Fandom Advice Ron Howard Got from George Lucas

Ron Howard took over for Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Solo: A Star Wars Story in the middle of production.

George Lucas had some excellent advice for Ron Howard for dealing with Star Wars fans. Howard famously took over for Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Solo. The directing duo were fired from the young Han Solo movie about half way through the production. Howard was brought on board for rewrites along with reshoots, and finally shooting what hadn't been finished up to that point. It was a big project to jump into, especially at that point in the game.

In a new interview, Ron Howard was asked about his experience of working with Lucasfilm on Solo. The director, who has been friends with Star Wars creator George Lucas for decades now had nothing but good things to say about the experience. He even detailed what Lucas told him when he was thinking about directing Solo. He had this to say.

"George Lucas is a mentor, a tremendous friend. He warned me, and he said, 'Hey look, it's for the fans, and yet you have to have the courage to hear them but tell the story you wanna tell.' So he's all for the galaxy expanding and experimenting. That's what he prefers the most. He gets most excited about those that wanna push the boundaries of what a Star Wars movie or TV show [can be]."

Ron Howard went on to say, "I had a blast making that movie, and it did remind me that I really enjoy that kind of playful storytelling and the action, and I love tech." There's plenty of tech to be played with in the world of Star Wars and there was a lot in Solo. "I love actors more, but it's great what you can offer audiences." Regardless, the movie wasn't exactly the box office success that the studio was hoping for, though fans have started to come around to it.

Ron Howard isn't the only one in his family to get behind the camera for a Star Wars project. His daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard directed an episode of The Mandalorian. However, before that, she wanted to shadow her father on the Solo set, which he was against at the time. He explains.

"She's not really a daughter, she's a movie star. With a young cast feeling a lot of pressure on Solo, I wasn't necessarily sure how comfortable everyone would [be] with Bryce around. But she convinced me to try it for a day or two, and of course everybody fell in love with her because she's that kind of person. And it was great having her around, and she had a couple of pretty great suggestions."

As for George Lucas, he ended up coming by the Solo set to visit his old friend and even helped out during a Millennium Falcon scene. According to Ron Howard, Lucas contributed "an attitude" and a behavior for the young Han Solo character. That tone was then spread out through other pieces of the movie since it helped Alden Ehrenreich and Howard. The interview with Ron Howard was originally conducted by Collider.