Ron Howard was initially anxious about taking over directing duties on Solo: A Star Wars Story after the previous moviemakers were fired.
The Da Vinci Code filmmaker was drafted in to helm the Star Wars prequel spin-off, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo, after directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller was ousted from the project due to creative differences with Lucasfilm executives last year (17).
Ron appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night (03May18) and admitted coming onto the film midway through production, when most elements had been developed without him, was “chaotic” and he was nervous on the first day because he was required to oversee a very technical sequence.
“I was anxious and pumped up and it was a big action scene. It’s a beautiful set and everybody’s there and it’s droids and it’s aliens and some Wookiees running around,” he shared. “I organised this very complicated shot and it took a long time to get it together and the actors were pulling hard to try to make it happen.”
After describing the camera move he was trying to pull off, the 64-year-old added that it “went beautifully” and he was feeling good about himself but felt even more validated after getting the seal of approval from the giant Wookiee Chewbacca, Han’s best pal.
“When you get a fist bump and a full body hug from Chewbacca, it’s an experience I wish every moviemaker could have, but I realised I was in the galaxy far away but it was going to be O.K.”
The former Happy Days star also stated that it was “an unusual circumstance” and it wasn’t an ideal situation for anybody on the project, but he agreed to come on board after reading the script, which he found “surprising and very satisfying”.
Solo: A Star Wars Story, which also stars Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 15 May.
