It was reported that Ehrenreich's opinion of the original directors contributed to their firing, but he denies this.
"No. The truth is, Phil and Chris are wonderful directors. Besides, I never saw any of their cut, so I don't know how it would have ended up being."
For many directors, the opportunity to take on a behemoth such as a Star Wars vehicle would serve as a no-brainer. But in fact, that wasn't the case for Howard.
"I was certainly surprised to be asked, and at first, I said no. I didn't ever want to replace anyone on any movie. I'm only used to making films that I've developed carefully, that I've put myself into, and I just didn't think that I could do it. But they [Lucasfilm] said, 'Would you read the script? And I did read the script, and was very seduced by the script.
"But it was a difficult decision for me to make. It's a huge responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Phil Lord and Chris Miller. I know them a little bit and I like them personally," he said.
"Slowly but surely I felt like this was a unique opportunity. And while I was sad for the circumstances, no movie should have to go through that, no creative individuals with as much integrity as Phil and Chris should ever have to face that, but ultimately I felt I could bring something of myself to this and it would be an interesting creative experience. So I finally decided to do it, as an adventure."
Game of Thrones star, Emilia Clarke, 31, who plays femme fatale, Qi'ra, friend and romantic interest of Solo, said, "Yeah, I know it sounds like an absolute car crash, but it wasn't. I know on paper it sounds horrific, but in reality [the way the change in directors was handled] was seamless. And there was a tiny little hiatus."
Clarke told news.com.au she made the most of the imposed break.
"Yes! I got to go to the Glastonbury [Festival]!" she laughs. "So, it was good timing. And then when Ron came on it was just the most peaceful transition.
"He's incredible. His reputation precedes him. In fact, I kept texting the writers, 'You're joking! We haven't actually got Ron Howard, have we?' That got me, true." She shakes her head. "We all felt so lucky that the person coming in was someone who was so unbelievably well-equipped for the job."
As for the fans, some of whom weren't exactly pleased with the decision that Howard take the helm given his filmography, which includes A Beautiful Mind (2001), for which he won the Best Director Oscar, Frost/Nixon (2008) which earned him another nomination, as well as other films such as Rush (2013) and Apollo 13 (1995).
Howard said: "Look, I'm interested in all kinds of movies. I always planned in my career from very early on to do a wide variety of films, so that audiences would trust me doing something that looked to be outside of my range of experience."
But for those whose memories extend further than a millennial's, Howard has in fact worked with the Lucasfilm team before.
"We did Willow (1988), which was similar. And actually, George Lucas had asked me if I wanted to direct the Star Wars movies 1, 2 and 3. He also asked Steven Spielberg and Bob Zemeckis, but we all told him, 'No, George. You should do it.' So, I had that confidence going for me."
How did Howard approach his first day of shooting?
Laughing, he said: "It was a professional challenge, and I went into it with a little bit of distance and with the idea that I would offer my experience and my guidance the best I could.
"But it didn't take long before I fell in love with the story, as well as the cast and the crew that were making the movie. It became very personal to me. So, I'd say within a week it was no longer a creative exercise but a great movie that I was fully invested in creatively," he said.
"I certainly inherited good work that had been done, and good ideas, which I was really grateful to have."
And as far as the switch-up is concerned? "It's not like it's never happened before in films. But yes, it's highly unusual."
