If you’ve been living under a rock all day then you might have missed the news earlier, that the forthcoming Han Solo spin-off has found its new Han Solo: Alden Ehrenreich.
Whilst there are probably a small handful of you guys out there who may recognise the actor’s name as the scene-stealer and standout from the Coen Brothers’ brilliant Hail, Caesar! earlier this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if the name got a lot of people scratching their heads. Now, for those that fall under the latter umbrella, there’s no need to worry about just who our new Han Solo is because we’re going to answer that question.
The 26-year-old actor’s name had been in the running for the role for quite some time and a couple of months ago, it was reported that he seemed like the frontrunner from finalists Taron Egerton and Jack Reynor, for the role. However, during their search process, casting directors at Disney and LucasFilm auditioned over a whopping 2,500 actors to find the perfect Solo – some other big names that were reportedly in the running include Miles Teller, Dave Franco, Scott Eastwood and Ansel Elgort – so Ehrenreich must have really knocked his auditions out of the park to snag the role.
Born on November 22nd, 1989, Ehrenreich was discovered back in 2003 – aged 14 – by none other than legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, when he made a fun little home video for his friend’s Bar Mitzvah. The director eventually arranged a meeting with the actor, at DreamWorks, where he introduced him to director Francis Ford Coppola who cast Ehrenreich in 2009’s Tetro – which was his first ever role in a major picture.
Not only is he a great actor but he was also passionate about sharing his love for the industry with others and co-founded the film/theatre company ‘The Collectin’ in 2009, with Shut Up and Drive and Yoga Hosers actress Zoë Worth, where they hosted weekly workshops. 7 years on, ‘The Collectin’ is still around and still meets for workshops and to put on performances in Los Angeles.
Some of the actor’s other big roles include playing Whip in 2013’s Stoker, of course Hobie in Hail, Caesar! but Alden also headlined the young-adult adaptation Beautiful Creatures, as Ethan Wate, in 2013, where he starred opposite Alice Englert, who played Lena Duchannes. The film also starred Viola Davis, Emma Thompson, Zoey Deutch and was supposed to launch a YA-franchise but flopped both critically and commercially.
Not only could he have headlined a YA franchise but, before testing for Han Solo, he also tested for the role of Peter Parker in Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man reboot. Although, when he was beat out by Andrew Garfield, he came to Sony’s door thereafter to audition for the role of Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a role which eventually went to Dane DeHaan – who, by the way, now that I think about it, looks pretty similar to our man of the hour. Alden also had roles in 2011’s Twixt and 2013’s Blue Jasmine and is set to star in Alexandre Moors The Yellow Birds and Warren Beatty’s currently untitled project before the Han Solo Anthology film in 2018.
I’m a big fan of Ehrenreich as an actor but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little skeptical to see him take on such an iconic role; when we think Han Solo, we think Harrison Ford, who has played the smuggler, scoundrel ane captain of the Millenium Falcon since 1977. It’ll be strange seeing another, younger actor step into the role. Perhaps, as someone who loves Star Wars and the mythology and the characters, as someone who has been inspired by this franchise, I’m just an over-protective fanboy. But Aldenham must have done something right to beat out around 2,500 other actors and win over the execs over at Disney and Lucasfilm to get the role.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are directed the currently untitled Han Solo spin-off, which is set to release on March 25th, 2018. Production will most likely begin on the film towards the end of this year or the start of next year and we can expect to find out who’ll be joining our new, young Han Solo in the coming months.
