Well, we finally know who it is. After a load of rumours, gossip and whittling down of names, the identity of the new young Han Solo in the second Star Wars spinoff – due to be released in 2018 – has been named: Alden Ehrenreich.
As reported by Page Six, Ehrenreich has beaten off competition from the likes of Taron Egerton, Jack O’Connell, Jack Reynor and Blake Jenner for the role, which will see him take on the role of the young smuggler before he went off and joined the Rebellion.
Having first come to attention in Francis Ford Coppola’s underrated Tetro, Ehrenreich has more often than not been the bridesmaid but never the bride, getting linked with big roles but ultimately being overlooked, leaving him to be content with solid supporting turns in the likes of Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, Park Chan-Wook’s Stoker and fantasy adaptation Beautiful Creatures.
Recently, he gained plaudits for his starring role in the Coen brothers’ Hail Caesar!, which has served to massively boost his credibility in Hollywood. Frankly, it’s not before time: he’s been a highlight of pretty much everything he’s appeared in, so it’s nice to see him get the recognition he deserves.
The Han Solo spinoff – which is being directed by The Lego Movie‘s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – hasn’t had any other cast members confirmed yet, although you can expect to see Chewbacca accompany him – where else would he be? Other than that, rumours have pegged Boba Fett as showing up at some point (which we wouldn’t be surprised at, considering his presence among the Star Wars tie-in material), but otherwise, we’ll sit back and see what happens.
The Star Wars: Han Solo spinoff will be released in cinemas on 25 May 2018. You can watch our video review of The Force Awakens here. For more news about the biggest movies, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
