Harrison Ford's Honest Reaction To 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'

One of the riskiest things that Star Wars universe has had to overcome since the beginning with Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Return of the Jedi, is the fact that they have so much to live up to. Star Wars: A New Hope and the subsequent 2 films were revolutionary not just in the film world with new technology and ways of filming, but also with the story and characters. Sure, there had been some science fiction stories before 1977 when Star Wars: A New Hope was released. But they couldn’t hold a candle to Star Wars. It was just so unique and different and even though the story was simple and follows the traditional story arc from the beginning to the end, it is unforgettable.

And one of the ways it is unforgettable is with the characters. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo captured the hearts of the fans from the moment they stepped on screen. However, from the very beginning, there was one particular character that many fans were very interested in: Han Solo.

The original Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, was a cranky gangster heartthrob with a mystery background. When Disney and Lucasfilm announced that they were making a Han Solo “origin” film, the fanbase got very excited. We were finally going to find out more about the mysterious character who despite trying not to show he cares, actually does.

Unfortunately, the film hit many bumps including the firing over creative differences of the original directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Ron Howard was brought in to helm the project.

In a recent appearance on the Lights Camera Barstool podcast, Ron Howard revealed what Harrison Ford’s reaction was Solo: A Star Wars Story and to Alden Ehrenreich’s portrayal of young Han Solo. He said that Ford enjoyed Solo: A Star Wars Story “very much”. Ron Howard added that Harrison Ford was “very supportive” of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and that he was “gracious and complimentary” to Alden Ehrenreich, too.

Ron Howard said:

“He said some things publicly, but privately, it was really great to see him put his hand on Alden's shoulder and say, 'Great job kid.’ It meant a lot. Alden worked so hard and it was a very high-risk situation for him and he was a cool customer and was really a pleasure to work with, as was that entire cast, they are just a great bunch.”

Around the time of Solo: A Star Wars Story’s release, Howard revealed that Harrison Ford had already watched the film twice and had heaped praise on Alden Ehrenreich’s portrayal of young Han Solo. This is all high praise because it is a well-known fact that Harrison Ford was not thrilled with the sequels, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, and almost didn’t return as Han Solo for The Force Awakens.

According to critics on Rotten Tomatoes, who gave Solo: A Star Wars Story a 69%, and the box office results that were a bit underwhelming, the film didn’t do as well as was hoped. However, that news definitely didn’t deter Harrison Ford, or a good number of the fanbase from loving the film and wanting more.

Ron Howard is still hoping that Alden Ehrenreich will one day be able to come back as young Han Solo and bring more stories with our favorite space gangster to life. The increasingly vocal fanbase also would love to see this and have helped to maintain an “interest in those character.” Howard said that even though there aren’t any plans yet for a sequel but “I think there’s interest in [the] gangster world…somewhere down the line.”

Written By Elizabeth Dresdow

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