It was pretty awesome when the world of Star Wars was met with the incredible directing skills of Ron Howard, who we love for bringing us A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Cinderella Man, Arrested Development, and now Solo: A Star Wars Story. And as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, his daughter, actress Bryce Dallas Howard, has taken to directing as well, and actually directed an episode of the recent hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
But before she jumped blindly into the Star Wars universe, she made sure she was introduced to the world by shadowing her dad in his venture. In a recent interview with Collider, Ron Howard spoke about how he felt having his daughter around, and his reluctance at first:
“She’s not really a daughter, she’s a movie star. With a young cast feeling a lot of pressure on Solo, I wasn’t necessarily sure how comfortable everyone would [be] with Bryce around. But she convinced me to try it for a day or two, and of course everybody fell in love with her because she’s that kind of person. And it was great having her around, and she had a couple of pretty great suggestions.”
That’s so cool! How convenient to have a parent to help show you the ropes. But as Ron Howard had never made a Star Wars film previously, he needed some guidance as well, and he said he was able to get some great advice from the man himself, George Lucas. Howard said:
“George Lucas is a mentor, a tremendous friend. He warned me, and he said, ‘Hey look, it’s for the fans, and yet you have to have the courage to hear them but tell the story you wanna tell.’ So he’s all for the galaxy expanding and experimenting. That’s what he prefers the most. He gets most excited about those that wanna push the boundaries of what a Star Wars movie or TV show [can be].”
It’s great to have friends with such talent and expertise! I think Solo turned out to be a fantastic film, and I would be happy seeing either of the Howards direct a project in the Star Wars universe in the future.