Ron Howard has spoken about taking over the Han Solo Star Wars spin-off movie.
He was confirmed as the new director yesterday (June 22) following the shock departure of the original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and has now taken to Twitter to assure fans it's in good hands.
"I'm beyond grateful to add my voice to the Star Wars Universe after being a fan since 5/25/77. I hope to honour the great work already done & help deliver on the promise of a Han Solo film," Howard wrote.
And if he's feeling the pressure of taking over a major project from directors that the fans liked, he's not showing it, as he's been joking about his time with George Lucas on American Graffiti with his co-star in that movie, Richard Dreyfuss.
"Finally, the world will get to see the twist George told us he always wanted to tell during Graffiti," Dreyfuss wrote, with Howard replying: "Don't be giving away any secrets, Richard!"
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said of Howard's Han Solo hiring: "We believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began 40 years ago.
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"With that in mind, we're thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie."
Lord and Miller were rumoured to have left the movie, which stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, over creative and tonal differences.
They've been shooting since the start of the year to a proposed release date of May 2018, which Lucasfilm plans to stick to.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
