The movie Ron Howard may regret for a long time to come: “A shame”
The list of cinematic works of the highest quality to have come from the mind and hands of Ron Howard is as vast as it is impressive. To make on great picture in the world of Hollywood is one thing, to forge an entire career on both sides of the lens is something different altogether.
After making the transition from child actor to respected director, Howard proceeded to deliver several memorable moments in the history of contemporary American cinema. Howard has become one of the most bankable directors in recent memory.
Early efforts arrived in the shape of Splash and Backdraft before Howard landed the most coveted prize of all, the ‘Best Director’ Academy Award for his work on A Beautiful Mind. From there, he would continue to garner critical admiration and commercial bounty from the likes of Cinderella Man and The Da Vinci Code.
He might not get the gravitas of Martin Scorsese or the stylish panache of Quentin Tarantino, but Ron Howard knows how to tell a story, and he’s been doing it for decades. It makes him, if nothing else, an incredibly safe pair of hands, especially for a studio looking to guarantee good box office returns.
However, despite all the widespread success that Howard has achieved as a director over the years, it’s only natural that there must invariably come a handful of missteps. The excellent run of movies that Howard has handled and the fact that his filmography is made up of predominantly excellent movies goes some way to proving his credentials.
When it came to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, though, Howard seemingly made a rare mistake. The origin story of Han Solo and Chewbacca, starring Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Donald Glover, was written by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan and followed 2016’s Rogue One into the wider Star Wars anthology movie series.
Solo saw praise arrive for some of its performances, plus visual prowess and action scenes. However, the actual screenplay and storyline were heavily criticised. This may have come down to the fact that original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were both fired from the project during principal photography, with Howard arriving as their replacement.
“It was unfortunate,” Howard has said of his experience in an interview with The Independent. “I really enjoyed Solo.” According to the director, both Lord and Miller had been “incredibly gracious” with him despite their being sacked. Howard felt that it was “a shame” that things panned out the way they did, not only for Lord and Miller but for the film itself.
Both Lord and Miller had creative differences arrive with Lucasfilm, which Howard found to be “unfortunate” because of his admiration for the 21 Jump Street, Spider-Verse and Lego Movie directing duo. Howard himself “liked the script” of Solo when he came across it, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I felt like I understood what it was that the studio and Lucasfilm were looking for in finishing the movie and reshooting some of the movie. In a few places, I thought of reconceiving a few scenes, which they were open to.”
Solo ended up becoming one of the most expensive movies ever made, with a budget of at least $275million. However, it became the first Star Wars movie to become a box-office bomb, with Howard noting, “There’s a lot I really love about Solo, and yet it didn’t hit the zeitgeist when it came to the market. Damn.”
Still, Howard admitted that despite things not working out the way he had wished with Solo, he still had “a blast creatively”. “It was a fun, fun sandbox to play in,” he said. “The people behind the scenes who have dedicated themselves to that galaxy are so passionate and so smart. People want to use the legacy and foundation to try and tell fun, fresh, emotional stories that can sweep audiences away. So I had a really good time.”
Check out the trailer for Solo below.
