George Lucas' Advice to Ron Howard for Directing Solo: A Star Wars Story: 'Just Don't forget — It's for 12-Year-Old Boys'

Solo director Ron Howard has recalled the advice George Lucas gave him about making a Star Wars movie — that the franchise's audience is primarily "12-year-old boys."

Speaking to Vulture, Howard opened up about the circumstances which led to him helming Solo: A Star Wars Story, after Lucasfilm decided to ditch the project's original directorial duo Phil Lord and Miller, of The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse fame.

During an impromptu breakfast meeting with Lucasfilm president Katherine Kennedy, Howard said he was told the studio had "reached a creative impasse with Lord and Miller" and then asked if he'd consider stepping in.

"I'd always been curious about Star Wars, and Solo landed in my lap when I didn't have another movie set to go," Howard said, when asked about the movie's behind the scenes drama. "My wife, Cheryl, and I were vacationing in Paris. I went to London to see Hans Zimmer play at the O2, and I reached out to Kathy Kennedy just to say 'hi.' And she said, 'Do you want to come to breakfast?' I said, 'Okay.'"

The meeting ended up being a mini summit on the future of the troubled Star Wars spin-off, Howard explained, with Rogue One producer Alli Shearmur and Solo screenwriter Jon Kasdan also in attendance.

"They basically said, 'We've reached a creative impasse with Lord and Miller. Would you ever consider coming in?'"

Howard said he took a bit of time to agree to the project, during which he was shown some of the footage Lord and Miller had already shot — and quickly saw "what was bothering" Lucasfilm. It was also around this point that he spoke with Star Wars' legendary creator, writer and director George Lucas, who offered his own advice.

"I talked to [Lucas] once early, when I was just thinking about doing it," Howard said. "He wasn't active on the films, but he said, 'Just don't forget — it's for 12-year-old boys."

Under Howard's direction, Solo was completed and released in May 2018, but failed to become a box office success — something that has often been blamed on the creative tussle behind the scenes.

"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," Howard said. "I couldn't judge that because I didn't see enough of it to know. But they were sure."

The director was told by Lucasfilm to "reshoot a lot" of what Lord and Miller had already made, though Howard said he retained some scenes he liked and that the duo remained "incredibly gracious throughout."

"They were just seeing two different movies," Howard concluded. "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' next movie."

Image credit: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social