If you’re one of the manyStar Warsfans feeling a bit concerned that the upcoming Han Solo movie may not be all that great, you may have reason to ease your mind just a teeny tiny tad. Even though he’s the guy that (mostly) directedSoloand his words need to be put through a filter of positivity, Ron Howard has shared the first encouraging reactions online. This sci-fi-fi adventure has had some small screenings and, based on what Howard has to say, it sounds like they went quite well.
Ron Howard has been very active on social media ever since taking over the gig directingSolo: A Star Wars Story. Recently, a fan who posted a photo of himself with a standee for the movie at a theater engaged the director to help him out a bit. “My wife reluctantly took this photo, tell her she must go see your movie with me!! #HelpMeObiRon,” David Clink begged on Twitter. Howard was cool enough to respond and, in his response, gave us the first reaction of sorts to the movie. Here’s what he had to say.
“Well…based on the feedback I’m getting from small screenings I think she’d very likely enjoy it. Action is cool &Han’s relationships with these charactersdrive the story in a fun & emotional ways.”
It may not be much, but this is a good thing to hear.Ron Howard is an inherently positive guy, but it’s still nice to hear that these screenings have gone well. Production onSolo: A Star Wars Storyhas been troubled and will likely go down in history for the scope of those troubles. The vast majority of the movie had already been shot under the direction of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind21 Jump StreetandThe LEGO Movie, when they were fired by Lucasfilm. Howard was brought in and wound up reshooting as much as 80 percent of the movie, earning himself a sole directing credit. That sounds like a recipe for an expensive disaster, but we have some hope that this could actually be a goodStar Warsmovie.
No doubt, thebiggest question mark in this whole thing is Alden Ehrenreich. Can the young actor really convince us that he’s Han Solo? That’s no easy task. Harrison Ford’s shoes are the biggest of big to fill. Aside from that, the footage we’ve seen forSolo: A Star Wars Storylooks great visually. Much of it feels like a classicStar Warsmovie. And some of those who frequent comment boards on the Internet are already in love with Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian, though they are mostly millennials who are generally in love with the actor anyway, believing he can do no wrong. Maybe Ron Howard really did manage to pull this off.
We’ll have amuch better idea of what we’re in forfairly soon, as the movie is making its debut at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15. That’s ten days ahead of the theatrical release ofSolo: A Star Wars Storyon May 25. If you want to see it opening weekend, you may have to buy your tickets on good faith alone though, as it looks like they’re going to go on sale on May 4, akaStar WarsDay. You can check outRon Howard’s Twitterreply for yourself below. We’ve also included some of the most recently released posters.
