Yesterday, we reported that Ron Howard had taken over directing duties on the Star Wars Han Solo spinoff after original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired over creative differences. While Howard isn’t my favorite director in the world, he’s competent, well-respected, and a veteran of big budget filmmaking. He was brought in precisely because he wasn’t going to rock the boat, and presumably the Han Solo movie will be a zero-drama affair from here on out.

For his part, Howard issued some friendly, innocuous quotes that, like everything he says, sound much better if you imagine it as his Arrested Development narration. Last night, Howard tweeted out the following:

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/RealRonHoward/status/878018818072883200[/EMBED_TWITTER] [EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/RealRonHoward/status/878019148676190208[/EMBED_TWITTER]

Howard also spoke at the Cannes Lions advertising and media conference earlier today. Variety reports that Howard says when Star Wars came out, he and his wife, Cheryl, stood in line for two hours to see it. ““I was so moved by the movie,” he said. “I was transported by the movie… We literally left almost speechless.” Howard says they decided to see it again immediately and waited in line for another 90 minutes.

As for signing on to the new production, Howard said, “So many people involved in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise are friends. It’s already been in production, and there’s a lot of really great work there.”

Howard’s task now will be to calm tensions on set, reassure the cast, take stock of what’s been shot so far, and figure out how to proceed. Filming resume July 10th, and the movie is still set to hit theaters on May 25, 2018.

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Image via Universal Pictures
ron-howard-in-the-heart-of-the-sea
Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Lucasfilm