Ron Howard to Direct Han Solo Movie After Directors' Exit

Ron Howard has been named the new director of the upcoming untitled Han Solo movie following co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller‘s exit from the film.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker was the first director rumored to be in the running to replace the 21 Jump Street directors and now the news is official.

“At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie. Filming will resume the 10th of July.”

Howard has been friends with George Lucas for decades and he even revealed a couple years ago that Lucas approached him to director The Phantom Menace in the late 90s.

The movie still has several weeks left of production and Howard will reportedly begin working immediately to review the footage already shot and figure out a plan of action to move forward with completing principal photography.