Taron Egerton was once in the running to play a young Han Solo in the prequel film Solo: A Star Wars Story before Alden Ehrenreich ultimately landed the role. Egerton even screen-tested in full costume, but despite getting that close to playing the part made famous by Harrison Ford, Egerton passed on the part, and now he’s talking about why he decided to turn it down.
During a recent chat with Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, Egerton explains how close he got to playing Han Solo before deciding that the opportunity just wasn’t for him:
“I felt like that… I felt that– I mean, I’ll be honest, I got on the Falcon. I was with Chewie. I was in the full costume… and I… you know what, that’s what I felt like. I felt like I got there, I did it, I lived it. And there was one more… there was another round that I decided not to do. And it’s far enough in the past now that I feel like I can say that. I hope no one feels annoyed that I have said it. But it just felt to me like I didn’t feel… like you know when we mentioned earlier that thing when I read the Kingsman script and I was like, ‘This is– I’ve gotta do this. This is my part.’ I just didn’t feel it. Yeah, and can really own it and really– ’cause you’re following Harrison Ford… No one ever wants to follow Harrison Ford, you know? So yeah, that didn’t happen.”
This was probably the best choice in the long run. Alden Ehrenreich had to take on the nearly impossible task of inheriting a role made famous by Harrison Ford, which came with its challenges. Ehrenreich wasn’t bad in the part, but it comes with many expectations playing a character as iconic and a massive part of the pop culture fabric as Han Solo. Nothing Ehrenreich could’ve done would’ve been good enough to please hardcore fans, and I think that’s why Solo: A Star Wars Story ultimately underperformed at the box office.
Solo: A Star Wars Story followed the early adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca as they join a heist within the criminal underworld ten years before the events of the original Star Wars film. In addition to Ehrenreich, the film stars Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany. Released on May 25, 2018, the film grossed a disappointing $392.9 million globally on a reported $275-300 million budget, killing plans for other standalone prequel films for other characters.
Do YOU think Taron Egerton would’ve been a better Han Solo than Alden Ehrenreich?