Ron Howard to direct Beatles documentary

Ron Howard plans to tell the story of the Beatles in a new documentary about the Fab Four.

According to Rolling Stone, the former "Happy Days" star will direct a film about the touring years of the band. He plans to interview surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for the film, along with Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison.

"What's so compelling to me is the perspective that we have now, the chance to really understand the impact that they had on the world," Howard told Rolling Stone. "That six-year period is such a dramatic transformation in terms of global culture and these remarkable four individuals, who were both geniuses and also entirely relatable. That duality is something that is going to be very interesting to explore."

Howard noted how he had the chance to meet a Lennon on the set of "Happy Days" once. "We got word that John Lennon wanted to come by and bring his son [Julian], and he was a big Fonzie fan. I managed to sneak in a picture," he said. "He was graciously cool, but mostly it was for his kid, which we all really appreciated."

The documentary is expected to be released in late 2015.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' arrival in America.