To Save ‘Star War’ Film, Studio Chose a ‘Safe’ Director
Sometimes Ron Howard uses swear words.
Yes, most of the time, this 64-yearold filmmaker is the wholesome, good- natured guy from decades’ worth of film and TV roles, the reliable director of movies like “Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind.”
But asked why he took over directorial duties on “Solo: A Star Wars Story” after the original directors had been ousted, Mr. Howard let his mask of decency briefly slip.
“It was, a little bit, kind of a, what the —.” And here he let fly an expletive.
If Mr. Howard can save “Solo,” once a seemingly surefire summer hit now clouded by tales of disarray, it would cement his reputation for unflappability and show he can succeed at any scale, in any genre. (Early reviews agree that Mr. Howard navigated the film away from outright disaster.) A box- office win would also be welcome after the soso performance of his recent movies.
And a victorious outcome would validate the understated philosophy that has guided Mr. Howard.
“Solo,” which opened in May and chronicles the early capers of Han Solo, before he became the roguish interplanetary smuggler portrayed by Harrison Ford, might not seem like an obvious fit for Mr. Howard.
Where the character ( played in “Solo” by Alden Ehrenreich) is reckless, Mr. Howard is careful and methodical.
He has transcended early directorial efforts like “Splash” and “Night Shift” — not to mention the stigma of being a child actor — to become a respectable Academy Award winner. He is a founder of Imagine Entertainment, the production company behind his films as well as shows like “Empire” and “Genius.”
Yet Mr. Howard said, “I have a risk-taking side that I’m kind of quiet about.”
It was only last June that Mr. Howard took the reins on “Solo” under circumstances both calamitous and hazy. Filming on the project (which also features Donald Glover as the young Lando Calrissian) had started the previous January, and as the end of principal photography approached, Lucasfilm made a stunning move.
The film’s directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, whose credits include “21 Jump Street” and “The Lego Movie,” were fired and replaced by Mr. Howard, who would finish the “Solo” shoot and handle postproduction.
Amid reports that Mr. Lord and Mr. Miller had clashed with Kathleen Kennedy, the Lucasfilm president, the outgoing directors said at the time simply that their departure was because of “creative differences,” adding, “Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project.”
Ms. Kennedy said the film needed “somebody who is going to be nonthreatening and very collaborative and, most importantly in this case, somebody who really, deeply understood actors and performance, and the cast could very quickly feel comfortable and safe with.”
Mr. Howard said he was not driven by the lackluster reception of his recent films, like the 2015 period drama “In the Heart of the Sea” or “Inferno,” his 2016 adaptation of the Dan Brown novel.
Mr. Howard said he was won over by the “Solo” script, written by the veteran “Star Wars” screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (“The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi,” “The Force Awakens”) and his son Jonathan Kasdan.
“It’s a pure adventure story,” Mr. Howard said. “There was a lot of fun in seeing Han as a speed freak and the Millennium Falcon as the machine that he immediately connects with.”
Before diving in, he did have one helpful conversation with Mr. Ford, his long- ago co- star in “American Graffiti,” who talked him through the fundamentals of Han Solo.
Mr. Ford said there were some “unspoken elements that caused me to play the character the way I played him,” details he shared with Mr. Howard.
Mr. Howard used the cast and crew that were already in place. The actor Michael K. Williams, who was not available for reshoots, was replaced in the role of a villainous crime lord by Paul Bettany.
The director has since moved on to many other projects, including a documentary about Pavarotti, and films adapted from Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” as well as a possible limited-series TV show based on Jon Krakauer’s “Under the Banner of Heaven.”
Mr. Howard suggested that his continuing to keep so busy was its own form of rebellion.
“My kids are grown,” he said. “I’ve got good energy. I’ve got the support of a company. To me, it’s not a time to play it safe. Why would I do that? Instead, it’s a time to push it while I still care.”