Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard said Saturday directing a movie in the "Star Wars" universe was as daunting as making his Beatles documentary thanks to the intense fan love.
Howard, 64, who made the acclaimed "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week" (2016) about the peak years of the Fab Four, told a news conference in southern California he felt just as much pressure on "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
"The level of anticipation is unlike anything that I've done. You fall into it and it's amazing. It was a little bit like the Beatles documentary that I took on," said Howard, who won directing and producing Oscars for "A Beautiful Mind" (2002).
"I could tell from the moment it was announced, 'Ron, don't (mess) this up.' So I immediately felt the same thing with this. The fans care, and they should care."
"Solo," which gets its US release on May 25, charts the adventure-filled past of smuggler Han Solo made famous in four "Star Wars" movies by Harrison Ford before he was the galaxy's most adored scoundrel.
The second of three planned spin-offs from Disney-owned Lucasfilm, it follows "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," the second highest grossing movie worldwide in 2016.
The latest episode sees Han meet his mighty future co-pilot Chewbacca and encounter the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that sets the course of one of the Star Wars saga's most unlikely heroes.
