Quantcast
Ron Howard is the Star Wars Han Solo anthology film director - SciFiNow

Ron Howard is the Star Wars Han Solo anthology film director

The rumours are true, Ron Howard will step in to finish the untitled Han Solo movie

Following yesterday’s news that Phil Lord and Chris Miller had been fired from the Han Solo anthology movie, it was widely rumoured that Ron Howard was the front-runner to step in and finish the film.

Well, it looks like that was right on the money, as THR reports that Howard has indeed signed on to complete the still untitled Star Wars anthology film.

Producer and Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy released a statement that read: “At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago. 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.”

Howard will be making every effort to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. THR reports that he’ll be meeting with the actors, including Alden Ehrenreich in the title role, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson as Han’s mentor Beckett, and Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge in unnamed roles, “to soothe a rattled set and will pore over a rough edit to see what the project has and still needs.”

Filming is set to resume on 10 July, which gives the filmmaker some time to settle in. It’s reported that the film is about 3/4s through its principal photography with three and a half weeks still to go, and with five weeks scheduled in for reshoots.

The veteran filmmaker behind Apollo 13, Willow and The Da Vinci Code certainly seems like a safe pair of hands, which is understandable given the highly public nature of this creative change-up. The clash between the previous directors and the duo of Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan has been attributed to their approach to shooting and their take on the material.

The Han Solo anthology film is in cinemas from 25 May 2018. Get all the latest sci-fi news with every issue of SciFiNow.