Meet the new Han Solo: Alden Ehrenreich

Move over, Harrison Ford. There’s a new Han Solo in town. Or space, as it were.

After a months-long search, where more than 2,500 different actors met to audition for the coveted part, Alden Ehrenreich has been chosen to play Han Solo in the upcoming standalone film. While he hasn’t officially landed the part, The Hollywood Reporter writes that Ehrenreich is in final negotiations for the role.

Ehrenreich was reportedly among the three finalists for the role in March, as it appears he beat out Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction) and Taron Egerton (The Kingsman) for the part.

The 26-year-old has appeared in Blue Jasmine and Stoker in 2013, but didn’t land a major starring role until he was featured alongside George Clooney and Josh Brolin in The Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! Ehrenreich received critical acclaim for his performance as Hobie Doyle, despite the film performing below expectations in the box office. While he’s starred in a few big movies, his casting follows Disney’s model of casting relative unknowns in the new Star Wars franchise.

It’s not going to be easy for Ehrenreich to win over fans as Harrison Ford’s performance in the iconic role is the stuff of fanboy legend. It will be fascinating to see how the new film deviates from his performance.

 

Not much is known about the Han Solo standalone film other than it will be about Solo’s adventures as a youngster. It will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie) and penned by Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back) and son Jon Kasdan (The First Time). 

Ehrenreich isn’t the obvious choice, but as Lucasfilm and Disney showed with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they seem to know what they’re doing. The Han Solo film is due for release sometime in 2018.

[THR]