You'd think a life in the limelight would make a person fearless. We think a hardening must happen under decades of public interrogation. These public figures have to develop a thick skin and impenetrable will, right?  Especially when someone is part of the "Hollywood system," we expect them to have developed an impervious, conquer-all attitude.

Ron Howard has spent his whole life either in front of, or behind, a camera. While there are certainly some advantages, it didn't make him completely confident to tackle every project ever. In 2018, Howard was handed one of the hardest projects in his career when Disney asked him to board the already in-production Star Wars movie, Solo. Finally, the beloved ruffian Han Solo would have his own movie. Here's the difficult part: The film was already made by another set of filmmakers. However, Disney was unhappy with their vision, and asked Howard to right the sinking ship.

"I was reluctant at first, to be honest," Howard told the Montreal, Quebec Gazette. "But I was won over by the script. I really didn't even engage until I knew the studio was going to make the change and that the directors understood that. It was a classic case of creative differences, and I certainly didn't want to get in the middle of that."

Watch The Andy Griffith Show on MeTV!

Weeknights at 7 & 7:30, Sundays at 11 AM & 5 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

 Add to Favorites  Remind Me

It was a full-circle moment for Howard's career. One of his first big movie successes was American Grafitti, directed by George Lucas. Now, Howard was contributing to Lucas' legacy, helming a movie based on his Grafitti co-star Harrison Ford's biggest character.

"Once I realized it was going to happen, and I read the script, I just felt like there were great ideas here, a fantastic, iconic character who was important to me and to others, and a strong cast. So just a lot of pluses to work with."

Howard had always been a fan of the Star Wars franchise and felt in awe of what his one-time collaborators accomplished back in the '70s.

"The first one changed the landscape of what was possible in the movies. George's imagination and his ability to apply technique— even though he's not a techie himself— his ability to adapt and push the boundaries of the kinds of images you could capture on screen, and the way you could capture them, was jaw-dropping.

"Also the storytelling was fantastic. When I started directing this, I hadn't really thought about the way these movies entertain you. I instantly realized it's a sort of density of entertainment values that's pretty unique. There's always the possibility of shifting over to humour, yet there's a real drama and power in classic themes that resonate in a deep way."