BREAKING: Ron Howard Is The New Director Of The Han Solo Film

By: Benjamin Hart

Over the past few days the untitled Han Solo standalone film has been the center of a firestorm of controversy and drama following the departure of directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the project. Various reports suggest the duo were fired by Lucasfilm over a variety of creative differences. Since then the debate has raged and rumors have spread concerning who might take over the project, which reportedly only had three weeks of principal photography left, Now we have just received word on who will be taking over for Lord and Miller.

This morning The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, and StarWars.com confirmed that Ron Howard is the new director of the Han Solo film. Howard is an Academy Award winning director best know for directing countless films, including Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Parenthood, Willow, and many others. In a statement, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said the following:

“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. Filming will resume the 10th of July.”

The Hollywood Reporter adds that Howard is scheduled to meet with actors Alden Ehrenreich (Han), Donald Glover (Lando), Woody Harrelson (Beckett), and others in order to "soothe a rattled set and will pore over a rough edit to see what the project has and still needs."

The announcement on StarWars.com includes the May 25, 2018, so despite this shakeup it sounds like Lucasfilm is confident they can deliver this film in time for its original release date.

Sources: StarWars.com, The Hollywood Reporter

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