Unless someone can find a time machine for Harrison Ford, Disney and Lucasfilm will need to recruit a new, younger actor to play Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off. Set for release sometime in 2018, the producers are after someone who not only resembles Ford, but is also capable of piloting the Millennium Falcon and striking up a friendship with a gigantic wookie (presumably).
Preparations for the new film are well under way, with The Hollywood Reporter claiming yesterday that the search for the new Han Solo has been boiled down to three contenders. And so this is where the casting process gets tricky – with over 2500 actors having already been given the thumbs down during auditions, the producers’ very-short shortlist now contains the person who will have the unenviable task of filling Harrison Ford’s legendary and surely space dust-y shoes. And so the question is this: will they pick the right man for the job?
Thankfully, we don’t have to answer that question – but what we can do is introduce you to the three hopefuls who are being touted for the top job.
Alden Ehrenreich
The details: 26, from LA, California. Notable roles include Hail, Caesar!, Blue Jasmine and Beautiful Creatures
Ehrenreich was apparently discovered by Stephen Spielberg at a friend’s bat mitzvah, having seen the actor play a role in a short comedy film that was played during the reception. His first major film role came as the lead in Beautiful Creatures, where he was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Romance category – he lost, somehow.
You may recognise Ehrenreich if you’ve seen the recent Coen brothers’ film, Hail, Caesar, where he plays the singing cowboy Hobie Doyle. Does Han Solo ever break into song, though?
Jack Reynor
The details: 24, from Longmont, Colorado, but moved to Ireland with his mother when he was 2. Notable roles include What Richard Did and 2013’s Transformers: Age of Extinction
Reynor’s work on the screen isn’t as well-known as Ehrenreich’s, but its by no means inferior: he was lauded for his leading role in the 2013 Irish drama What Richard Did, which won him an IFTA Award for Best Film Actor.
Hollywood has since called Reynor’s name, however: you may recognise him from the 2013 Transformers film Age of Extinction playing Shane Dyson, a role that he’s set to reprise in 2017 with the franchise’s fifth instalment.
Taron Egerton
The details: 26, from Birkenhead, UK but raised in Anglesey, Wales. Notable roles include The Kingsman and Eddie the Eagle
And last but by no means least is the Merseyside-born (and Welsh-raised) Egerton. The 26-year-old has starred in the likes of The Kingsman, Legend and Testament of Youth since making his debut in 2011, and appears to be a new British star on the rise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0UtJ23Yauk
Will Egerton’s role as the eponymous Eddie in feel-good Winter Olympics flick Eddie The Eagle send him shooting for the stars (wars) though? Only time will tell…