Ron Howard has been around 'Star Wars' since the "beginning".
Ron Howard
The 'Inferno' filmmaker has stepped in to helm the Han Solo spin-off movie - which focuses on the origins of the Rebel Alliance leader, played by Alden Ehrenreich - after Phil Lord and Christopher Miller recently stepped away due to "creative differences".
Speaking at the Cannes Lions film event, Ron explained: "I've been around the 'Star Wars' universe from the beginning.
"When I was being directed by George Lucas on 'American Graffiti in 1972, we were standing out in front of Mel's Drive-In in San Francisco where we were shooting and I said 'do you know what you think your next film might be?'
"And he said 'yeah, I want to do a science-fiction movie but a really fun one like 'Flash Gordon' with the effects of Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'. I thought 'that sounds like a kind of crazy idea'.
"So many people involved with the 'Star Wars' franchise are friends, so it's gratifying to be able to lend my voice to the universe - coming in when it's already been in production and there is a great amount of work done."
The 63-year-old actor-turned-director previously starred in 'Star Wars' creator Lucas' 1973 film 'American Graffiti' and directed 'Willow' for him in 1988.
Ron also previously revealed he had been approached to direct 1999 'Star Wars' prequel 'The Phantom Menace'.
Meanwhile, it was recently claimed the previous directors had been in conflict with Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, for months and didn't appreciate the tight control the producer took on set.
Lord and Miller were hired for their distinctive brand of filmmaking, but the insider claimed Kathleen didn't approve of their style.
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