Ron Howard's Star Wars Ties Run Deep

07/02/2017 08:39 pm EDT

Fans were stunned with the whirlwind of developments that resulted in directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller departing from the production of the Han Solo spinoff movie, already filming for the last six months, and replaced by Hollywood icon Ron Howard.

The Academy Award-winning director has had long ties to the Star Wars universe, however, going back to when creator George Lucas first dreamed up the first movie set in a galaxy far, far away.

"I've been around the 'Star Wars' universe from the beginning," Howard said at Cannes Lions last week.

Lucas gave Howard his first major role since playing Opie on the Andy Griffith Show when the former child star was cast in American Graffiti. While that job lead to a steady gig as Richie Cunningham on the hit show Happy Days, Howard and Lucas began a relationship that continues to this day.

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"When I was being directed by George Lucas on American Graffiti in 1972, we were standing out in front of Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco where we were shooting and I said, 'Do you know what you think your next film might be?' And he said, 'Yeah, I want to do a science fiction movie, but a really fun one like Flash Gordon with the effects of Stanley Kubrick's 2001.' I thought, 'That sounds like a kind of crazy idea.'"

Howard came back for More American Graffiti in 1979, but Lucas was only producing at the time.

In 1985 Howard directed the movie Cocoon, about residents of a retirement home who are rejuvenated by aliens. The film utilized Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic company for visual effects, winning an Academy Award that same year.

This lead to Howard's next project with Lucas, the 1988 film Willow starring Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer. The fantasy film received mix critical reception and was middling at the box office, but it has since gained a cult following and was even nominated at the Oscars for Sound Editing and Visual Effects.

The two remained friends as they stayed on their own projects, but not for lack of trying. Lucas even debated asking Howard to direct the Star Wars prequels, but Howard encouraged Lucas to helm it himself.

Now with Lucasfilm sold to Disney and Kathleen Kennedy overseeing the Star Wars universe, Howard is making his first attempt at directing a film in the franchise that he's watched grow over the last four-and-a-half decades.

We'll see how he does when the Han Solo prequel opens in theaters on May 25, 2018.

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The Han Solo spinoff is filming now under director Ron Howard for a May 25, 2018 release. Alden Ehrenreich stars as a young Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca in the era before Star Wars: A New Hope, before they met Leia and Luke and embarked on a galaxy-saving adventure. Donald Glover also stars as Lando Calrissian, with Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Emilia Clarke in as-yet-unrevealed co-starring roles.

[h/t] Washington Post

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