Alden Ehrenreich Has Been Cast As Young Han Solo, But Who Is He Anyway?

UPDATE (18/7): Alden Ehrenreich has now officially been confirmed as a young Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller confirmed the casting at an event in London overnight. He reportedly beat out more than 3000 other candidates for the role, with the audition process lasting six months.

Ladies and gentleman, it’s young Han Solo! Aiden Ehrenreich finally officially announced. #SWCE pic.twitter.com/CwcaNNfeYg

— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) July 17, 2016

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ORIGINAL STORY:

Harrison Ford is done with Star Wars now and will instead be returning to his other most famous role in a new Indiana Jones movie, but that doesn’t mean Star Wars is done with Han Solo. There’s a spin-off starring a young version of the character in the works, and after weeks of rumours the lead actor has finally been announced: Alden Ehrenreich.

You’re forgiven if you reaction to that news was “who?”. Ehrenreich may have enjoyed a breakout role in the Coen brothers’ movie Hail, Caesar! as the guy Ralph Fiennes has to teach to say “twere”, but he’s not exactly been A-list material so far. Like the young leads of The Force Awakens, Ehrenreich is the kind of actor who has been waiting for a moment in the sun while racking up impressive roles in smaller films.

The story goes he was spotted by Steven Spielberg at a bar mitzvah, and his earliest roles were on TV shows Supernatural and CSI. Early movie roles included Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro and Twixt, Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, and Chan-wook Park’s Stoker, so he’s worked with some A-grade directors. He also starred in a “Twilight with witches” young-adult novel adaptation called Beautiful Creatures, but let’s gloss over that.

There’s a rumour Ehrenreich will actually debut in the Han Solo role in the other Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One, which is coming out later this year, though we’ll have to wait until May 25, 2018, for the actual Han Solo movie.