As we found out a few weeks ago, Disney and Lucasfilm are currently developing a "Star Wars Anthology" film about a young Han Solo. The movie is set to be the second in the "Anthology" series after Gareth Edwards' "Star Wars: Rogue One" and will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The plot will focus on how the scruffy looking nerf herder we all know and love came to be. What we don't know, however, is just how young this new Han Solo will be.
The answer? Pretty young.
"He'll definitely be probably in the high teens, low 20s. We're not introducing you to a 10-year-old Han Solo," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
George Lucas infamously gave fans a 10-year-old Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," and that portrayal didn't exactly go over so well with fans."
Harrison Ford was 35-years-old when he originally played Solo in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope," meaning that this new film will be set roughly 15 years before we first met the galactic smuggler. This setting could allow for interactions with famous characters from Han's past such as Jabba The Hutt, Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian.
What does this mean for casting? Well, those Aaron Paul (35) rumors from a few months back don't seem to have much credibility any more. Similar to the Disney owned Marvel, which recently cast 19-year-old Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Lucasfilm may go after a young newcomer that movie goers aren't entirely familiar with.
Is this a good decision for Lucasfilm? It's hard to tell right now. Typically, it's difficult to engage an audience with characters that are that young; everything feels just a bit less believable (Hayden Christensen was just 21 when he appeared in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and we all know how that turned out). But that doesn't mean that this film is doomed to fail. Lucasfilm is taking the necessary time to get each of their "Star Wars" projects right and have made a conscious effort to go after up-and-coming talent behind the scenes. Let's regard this with cautious optimism for the time being.
