The role of a young Han Solo in Disney and Lucasfilm's untitled "Star Wars" anthology movie is one of the most highly coveted roles in all of Hollywood. What started as a list of more than 2,500 actors has slowly been whittled down to just a few names. Now, a frontruunner for the highly anticipated casting may have emerged.
Alden Ehrenreich ("Hail, Caesar!") has been tabbed as the favorite to land the role of a younger version of everyone's favorite scruffy looking nerf herder. According to a recent report, Ehrenreich blew away Lucasfilm during his audition and jumped to the head of the pack to take over for Harrison Ford. Other candidates include Jack Reynor ("Transformers: Age of Extinction"), Taron Egerton ("Kingsman: the Secret Service"), Miles Teller ("Whiplash") and Emory Cohen ("Brooklyn").
Of course, this is just an unconfirmed rumor at this point, but it does make sense. Ehrenreich has been on the list of finalists for weeks, and his performance in the Coen Brothers' most recent picture was very well-received by critics. It's easy to see why directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("21 Jump Street," "The LEGO Movie") may like him.
Ehrenreich has also been seen in "Beautiful Creatures" and "Blue Jasmine," but "Hail, Caesar!" is by far his biggest role to date. His comedic timing and natural swagger in that film would suit the character of the lovable rouge Han Solo very well.
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will be the first standalone anthology film in the "Star Wars" universe, with the young Han Solo film following. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until 2018 for the movie.
Ehrenreich can next be seen in Warren Beatty's Howard Hughes biopic, which is expected to be released sometime later this year.
