One of the most gratifying aspects of Disney’s new era of Star Wars is seeing our favourite actors become part of the saga that George Lucas built. Already we’ve seen the likes of Adam Drive, Gwendoline Christie, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen and Donald Glover gets roles – and now it looks like Woody Harrelson could be following suit.
According to a report on Heat Vision, as passed on by The Hollywood Reporter, Harrelson is being eyed up to play the as-yet unnamed mentor of a young Han Solo in the Corellian smuggler’s own anthology movie, which will likely show his formative years before he became a hero of the Rebellion. It has been indicated that Christian Bale was previously under consideration for the same role, which gives you an idea of the kind of portrayal that Disney is looking for.
While Harrelson’s presence is still very much to be confirmed at present, we would definitely see his casting as a coup. When bringing to mind someone who could teach the young Han Solo a few lessons, a number of his previous roles spring to mind. There’s his flawed mentor Haymith Abernathy in the Hunger Games films, his even more volatile Detective Marty Hart in True Detective, and the casual as you like Tallahassee in Zombieland. With a bit of a luck he’ll embody a combination of these roles’ traits should he be selected – which will definitely be a great thing to watch.
Currently, the Han Solo anthology movie stars Alden Ehrenreich in the title role, with Donald Glover playing a young Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke also on board. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are directing from a screenplay penned by Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan.
The Han Solo anthology movie will be released in cinemas on 25 May 2018. For all the latest movie news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
