Ron Howard reveals the advice George Lucas gave him when he hired on to replace Lord and Miller as director of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Disney famously fired the Solo movie’s original directors when the film was already largely finished, tapping the Oscar-nominated Howard to execute extensive tone-adjusting reshoots.
Howard did his job as Disney asked, delivering a Han Solo standalone film that went on to gross $393 million worldwide on a mᴀssive budget of $250 million, a deeply disappointing performance from the studio’s point-of-view.
Seven years after putting his name to the first Star Wars film to ever bomb at the box office, Howard has looked back on the experience, addressing the problems the studio had with the film as directed by Lord and Miller, and revealing the advice he got from franchise creator Lucas (via Vulture):
I looked at some edited footage, and I saw what was bothering them. There was a studio that liked the script the way it was and wanted a Star Wars movie, but there was a disconnect early on tonally, and they weren’t convinced that what Phil and Chris were doing was working effectively. I couldn’t judge that because I didn’t see enough of it to know. But they were sure.
Once I said, “Okay, I think I can do this script, and I think I understand what you want of this script,” they said, “We’d want to reshoot a lot.” I looked at the whole movie and then pointed out some things that I thought were great. And Phil and Chris were incredibly gracious throughout that process. They were just seeing two different movies. So I came in, I had a blast, but there’s nothing personal about that film whatsoever. It’s still just a shame. I can’t wait for Phil and Chris’s next movie.
Howard then revealed the advice Lucas gave him:
I talked to him once early, when I was just thinking about doing it. He wasn’t active on the films, but he said, “Just don’t forget — it’s for 12-year-old boys.”
What This Means For Solo’s Legacy
Solo’s legacy will always be one of failure, given its awful box office performance. Disney was forced to completely change their Star Wars strategy after the movie tanked, putting the brakes on standalone origin films, while announcing a policy against recasting iconic franchise characters.
Howard himself has always said he enjoyed making Solo and was happy with the finished product, but thinks maybe the origin story approach was the wrong way to go, telling NME back in 2022:
Maybe it’s the idea that it’s too nostalgic. That going back and revisiting an origin story for a beloved character may not be what the fans were looking for. I loved the way it played to audiences, which I witnessed.
Howard had a tall task in completing Solo, ultimately reshooting much of the Star Wars movie, while adding new material. The film as released seemed more interested in catering to older fans than doing as Lucas advised and aiming at 12-year-old boys, a fact Howard seems to partly acknowledge in calling the movie “too nostalgic.”
Our Take On Lucas’ Advice To Think Of The 12-Year-Olds
A less-nostalgic Solo with more humor and a more kid-friendly tone may indeed have done better at the box office than the movie Howard delivered to Disney. Interestingly enough, Lord and Miller seemed to be on that track with their own more lighthearted take on Solo, but the studio seemingly steered the project toward delivering safe, serious fan service.
It seems now that Lucas’ advice for Howard may have actually been spot-on. It was Disney who failed to listen, arguably dooming Solo: A Star Wars Story to box office failure.
Lucas originally began developing a Han Solo movie, with Lawrence Kasdan set to write the script, before selling Lucasfilm to Disney.
It can also be argued that Solo never had a real chance to succeed, no matter who directed it, and what tone it was given. It’s possible that the origin story plan was bad from the beginning, notwithstanding the mᴀssive box office success of the prequel movie Rogue One.
Disney’s plans for Star Wars going forward show they’re indeed out of the origin story business, instead greenlighting sequels focusing on fan-favorite characters like The Mandalorian, Grogu and Rey, while going ahead with new stories like Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling.
It’s yet to be seen whether future Star Wars films will stick to Lucas’ Solo: A Star Wars Story advice and aim for fun-seeking 12-year-olds instead of nostalgic 50-year-olds.
