"In the Heart of the Sea" director Ron Howard opened up on why he has never directed a superhero film during an interview with SlashFilm -- and it isn't because he's never been offered one.

"I've had opportunities over the years [to make superhero movies]," he shared. "I really feel like you shouldn't make a movie as a kind of exercise. You have to be all the way in. I was never a comic book guy. I like the movies when I see them, especially the origin stories. I never felt like I could be on the set, at 3 o'clock in the morning, tired, with 10 important decisions to make, and know, intuitively, what the story needs. For me, I'd be copycatting and not inventing. I've never said yes to one."

He also added that he was offered the chance to direct "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," which he also turned down for a similar reason. "[George Lucas] didn't necessarily want to direct them. He told me he had talked to Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg and me. I was the third one he spoke to," he explained. "They all said the same thing: 'George, you should do it!' I don't think anybody wanted to follow-up that act at the time. It was an honor, but it would've been too daunting."

Howard's latest work, "In the Heart of the Sea," opens in theaters on December 11th. He is also known for directing other notable films, such as "Frost/Nixon," "A Beautiful Mind," "Cinderella Man" and more.