Ron Howard feels hurt that 'Star Wars' fans are snubbing his film 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'.

Ron Howard

Ron Howard

The standalone Han Solo film - which stars the likes of Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke and Woody Harrelson - has failed to capture the imagination of 'Star Wars' fans, with its global box off takings expected to peak at around $400 million.

Fan Kris Fairbanks tweeted: "I've been reading so many theories as to why 'Solo' hasn't been doing so well at the box office - sad to say, some SW fans are snubbing Solo b/c they're still upset over Last Jedi. If so, they're missing out & punishing a good film for something not its fault. (sic)"

Howard, 64, replied on Twitter: "I'm proud of #SoloAStarWarsStory and the cast & crew worked hard to give fans a fun new addition. As a director I feel badly when people who I believe (& exit polls show) will very likely enjoy a movie... don't see it on a big screen w/great sound."

It was recently reported the film is poised to become the first of the 'Star Wars' movies made by Disney and Lucasfilm to make a loss due to poor box office takings.

And Howard has revealed he saw 'Solo' as a "creative experiment".

The acclaimed filmmaker took over as director of the spin-off when Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were let go, with the pressure of completing the project in time for the release date of May 2018.

Ron shared: "For me, it was a kind of creative experiment to build on some cool creative thoughts and some fun ideas that had been launched ahead of me - and under pressure, because I did come in and there was a release date that the studio had in mind."