Back in January, an unconfirmed report claimed that LucasFilm was narrowing down its candidates to play the iconic Han Solo inStar Wars Anthology: Han Solo, whichPhil LordandChris Millerare directing. That report claimed that a final decision could be made in a matter of weeks, since whoever is cast may have acameorole inRogue One: A Star Wars Story, but that was never confirmed. Today we have word fromThe Hollywood Reporterthat Disney and LucasFilm have narrowed the field down to a handful of finalists, includingAlden Ehrenreich(Hail, Caesar!),Jack Reynor(Transformers: Age of Extinction) andTaron Egerton(Eddie the Eagle).
The report claims that those three actors tested for the role in London last week, and that they were plucked from a group of 10 finalists. Others who reportedly tested in London areMiles Teller,Ansel ElgortandEmory Cohen. They were part of the previous short list revealed back in January, along withScott Eastwood,Logan Lermanand Blake Jenner. Disney and LucasFilm reportedly tested over 2,500 actors for the iconicHan Solorole, making it one of the largest casting calls ever.
This new report also claims that several of the young stars ofRichard Linklater’s upcoming comedyEverybody Wants Somehave had meetings for the role. It isn’t known if they actually tested, or if they’re in contention.VarietyreporterJustin Krollalso added thatJack O’Connelland Blake Jenner are still in contention, but it isn’t clear if there is a front runner among these candidates.
TheStar Wars Anthology: Han Solospinoff will focus on how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whomLuke SkywalkerandObi-Wan Kenobifirst encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley.Phil LordandChris Miller(The Lego Movie) are directing from a script co-written byLawrence Kasdan(Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and his sonJon Kasdan(In the Land of Women). Production isn’t expected to begin until January 2017.
Disney and LucasFilm are now focusing on actors between the age of 20 and 25 for this coveted role. The studio previously tested actors between the ages of 17 and 34, but now it has narrowed the age range. Sources claim that there could still be other names on the studio’s list, but it isn’t known when a final decision is expected to be made. Do you think any of these actors has what it takes to play the young Han Solo?
