You knew this was coming. With the news hitting earlier this week that the search for a young Han Solo was well underway, what better time than for all of us to come together and agree on one name to take the coveted spot. I’m being very optimistic of course; there is no way we would all agree on one name, let alone even allow ourselves to suggest someone else play the iconic character that Harrison Ford has owned for almost forty years.
No one really wants to see someone else play Han Solo, but Ford isn't really being replaced, they are currently looking for a young talent to capture the character for Chris Miller and Phil Lord's upcoming Star Wars Anthology film centering on the young scruffy-looking nerf-herder.
More than 2,500 actors have auditioned so far, that's a lot of potential candidates. Reportedly, Miles Teller (WHIPLASH), Dave Franco (21 JUMP STREET), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (GODZILLA), Nick Robinson (JURASSIC WORLD), Logan Lerman (FURY), Ansel Elgort (THE FAULT IN OUR STARS), Jack Reynor (TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION), Tony Oller (THE PURGE), Tom Felton (HARRY POTTER), Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead), Rami Malek (Mr. Robot), Hunter Parrish (Weeds), Max Thieriot (Bates Motel), Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf), Joshua Sasse (Galavant), Leo Howard (Kickin' It), Landon Liboiron (Hemlock Grove), Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl), and many more have auditioned.
The movie doesn’t start shooting until January 2017 (for a May 2018 release), so there’s still plenty of time to find the right person. Producer Kathleen Kennedy made a few important points we should keep in mind in terms of what they’re looking for.
Firstly, on why they are even making a Han Solo film she said “There’s got to be a reason for [the stand-alone film] to be. And obviously the thing that Star Wars has always done so well is it doesn’t spend a lot of time [explaining] the stories that have come before. We don’t want to do that either. We don’t want to spend time going back and answering a lot of questions that, quite frankly, I don’t think people want answered.” But more importantly for this Cast This edition, she discussed how old will Han be in the film saying “He’ll definitely be probably in the high teens, low 20s; we’re not introducing you to a 10-year-old Han Solo.”
Personally I’m hoping they cast a relative unknown in the role. They went that way for the most part with Episode VII’s young cast so perhaps it will stay in that direction. Obviously it should be someone charismatic who, despite his apparent arrogance and selfishness, still has that heart of gold we’ve all grown to appreciate. Or should this young Solo be a real jackass seeing how he’s likely to be an angst-fuelled teenager?
The role of a temperamental misfit has been cast in countless movies since Star Wars, but Han Solo is the one-of-a-kind loner, so let’s hope the casting department is on the lookout for someone who at least looks like a young Harrison Ford, and has the physical capacity to handle the action scenes.
One of my choices would be Taron Egerton, who won me over with his role last year in KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE. He’s also likely to turn heads again in next year’s the Eddie the Eagle biopic and as Robin Hood in ROBIN HOOD: ORIGINS the following year. He’s got the charm and attitude to pull this off I think; he would just need to work on hiding the accent. Then there is Scott Eastwood, who I may have suggested for a few roles already in this column. While it remains to be seen if he can handle a blockbuster movie, he’s been holding his own in smaller parts and could use that to his advantage to take on such an important role like Han Solo. Lastly, the innocent looking Nicholas Hoult who went completely batshit in my favorite movie this year, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. He played Beast in the recent X-Men films, and is a good young actor who’s gaining prominence at the right time.
The question is who would you like to see in the role?
RESULTS FROM CAST THIS: THE CROW – 1. Joseph Gordon-Levitt 2. Tom Hiddleston 3. Cillian Murphy