Solo: A Star Wars Story has been a disappointment at the box office, pulling in a domestic total of $148.9 million over its first two weeks—roughly half of the $286 million total that Rogue One earned over the same period. It also had the worst second weekend of any film in the franchise.
There are several theories floating around about the film's lack of commercial success, including the idea that some fans are skipping the film because they didn't enjoy 2017's Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Solo director Ron Howard personally responded to a fan's tweet this weekend about the theory. He said he's proud of the cast and crew and added, "As a director I feel badly when people who I believe (and exit polls show) will very likely enjoy a movie [and] don’t see it on a big screen with great sound."
In follow-up tweets, Howard said the crew was shooting for "straight up fun" when they made Solo: A Star Wars Story. He also doubled down on the idea that The Last Jedi may have hurt Solo's box office success by retweeting another fan who mentioned the theory:
During a recent interview with Empire, Howard said there is currently "no concrete plan" for another Han Solo film, but he also doesn’t completely rule it out. "It's been kind of a constant process of asking the questions—how might this have happened?" he noted. "How might have Han Solo been affected? What are the events that might have shaped his life? I think it does continue to beg questions. The fans seem enthusiastic, and so maybe there's going to be interest in exploring those."
Howard also hinted at the possibility that Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian character could get its own film at some point. "He's so entertaining, that's a real possibility," Howard said. "All of this is in discussion, but it all depends on project-by-project development."
