Logo

Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Deadline, TVWeek

Disney Finds Its Han Solo for New ‘Star Wars’ Movie — So Who Is This Guy? He Began His Career on TV After Being Discovered at a Bat Mitzvah Reception by Steven Spielberg

May 6, 2016  •  Post A Comment

Disney has settled on who will be the new face of Han Solo, the character made famous by Harrison Ford starting in 1977 with the original “Star Wars” movie. Newsweek reports that Alden Ehrenreich will play a younger version of Solo in a standalone “Star Wars” prequel that will be directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord.

“The actor’s hiring follows one of the most extensive casting calls in Hollywood, with 2,500 people reportedly seen for the part,” the story reports. “An early shortlist included Taron Egerton, the star of ‘Kingsman’ and ‘Eddie the Eagle,’ and Irish actor Jack Reynor, best known for 2014’s ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction.'”

Ehrenreich, who has appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Tetro” (2009) and “Twixt” (2011) and in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” (2013), first surfaced in a guest role on the TV series “Supernatural” in 2005 — a role he reportedly landed thanks to an encounter with Steven Spielberg.

“Ehrenreich had starred in a short film for his friend’s coming-of-age party and Spielberg just happened to be among the guests,” Newsweek notes.

Rolling Stone quotes Ehrenreich saying of the incident: “It’s a video that this girl asked us to do. I mean, there wasn’t a script: We would go and just film whatever made us laugh. I’m this 14-year-old, skinny little kid with long hair. I break into her house, try on her clothes and make up a song. All of this is just us literally taking a camera and going, like, ‘Okay, ha ha, do this.’”

Ehrenreich has most recently appeared in the Coen brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!”

Plot details about the “Star Wars” prequel are being kept under wraps, but Solo will reportedly be joined by Chewbacca in the movie, which is due out in December 2018.

Deadline.com reports that the film is expected to be titled “Han Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

star wars-logo

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)