Ron Howard Made a Difficult Choice in Taking Over 'Solo' Movie

Before Ron Howard took over the production of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the film was already mired in controversy.

After directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were reportedly fired after two months of filming, leaving the movie in a state of uncertainty with less than a year before it was set to premiere in theaters. And though Howard was uncertain at first, he ultimately decided to join because he "felt like I could help."

"I jumped in as a bit of an adventure really, a kind of cinematic adventure for Ron," Howard told Empire Magazine. "It wasn't long before I had fallen completely in love with it, and I feel passionate and connected to this movie as anything I've done. It's been an exciting, exciting experience. I came in as a true believer in what the movie could be. I really loved the story, I thought the script was strong. I was very excited about the cast. So it was easy for me to be enthusiastic."

Howard has since filmed a majority of the footage that's making the final cut, and is receiving sole director credit while Lord and Miller are being billed as executive producers. Those two had already established a style, which Howard was coming into.

"If ever there was a completely honest version of creative differences, this is it," Howard said. "I didn't witness any of it. I came in, just picked up and went. I'm very grateful for much of the work [Lord and Miller] did. Yes, we took some of the sequences in different directions and experimented with them and there's a great deal of myself in the movie now. But their fingerprints are all over it in ways that I'm very grateful for."

Co-writer Lawrence Kasdan, who reportedly butted heads with the ousted directors on the set, spoke about how the production process needed to change for the film to be successful. And fans might be wondering how much of the movie is Miller and Lord, and how much is Howard.

"Look, I don't want to go into it too much because I really don't want people worrying about how many people worked on the movie," Howard said. "I just think the movie will speak for itself. And these stories are meant to be immersive, something you can lose yourself in."

And though the film is set to be released at the end of May, there's still more to be done.

"The fact is, we've got a hell of a lot of work to do," Howard said. "The whole thing has been very focused, very intense but incredibly enjoyable. We all know we are going to make our date and we're feeling really resolved and solid about the movie."

Solo: A Star Wars Story premieres in theaters May 25th.

Are you excited or worried about the new spinoff film? Let us know how you feel in the comments.

[h/t CBM]