By passing the young Han Solo film off to Ron Howard, the Star Wars universe handlers assured viewers of a certain level of competence and joy. Howard’s varied career has involved everything from beloved acting turns like Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham and well-respected directorial work like Frost/Nixon, Cocoon, and A Beautiful Mind. This general high quality and Howard’s reassuring, genial nature combined memorably on Arrested Development, which he shepherded into being and served as champion for during its long, pre-Netflix time in the wilderness. He also served as the omnipotent, friendly narrator for the Bluth family’s various misadventures.
The obvious question, then: Could the broader Star Wars universe possibly play out within the madcap Arrested Development tone? Nerdist has helpfully tested this hypothesis, appending the entire original trilogy with Howard’s smart-ass asides.
It works pretty well—particularly the “Luke was, however, getting along with his sister” line. The billions of jokes that came in the wake of the directorial switch-up can now be safely retired, or at least fake-buried in an elaborate magic trick—erm, illusion.