Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

It’s official: Alden Ehrenreich is our young Han Solo

By Rick Marshall July 18, 2016

alden ehrenreich — Universal Pictures

The galaxy’s most famous (and scruffy-looking) nerf-herder has a new face.

After a previous report indicated — unofficially, of course — that Hail, Caesar! actor Alden Ehrenreich would play Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spinoff film that will explore the iconic character’s early years, Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm have now officially announced Ehrenreich as the project’s star. The actor was confirmed as the new, younger version of Han Solo during the Star Wars Celebration convention over the weekend in London.

Back in May, Deadline reported that Ehrenreich won the role over Kingsman: The Secret Service star Taron Egerton and Transformers: Age of Extinction actor Jack Reynor (among other actors), and was likely to be officially announced as the young Han Solo in the near future.

Little is known about the plot of the upcoming film, which will offer a peek at how Han Solo became one of the galaxy’s greatest smugglers (according to him, at least). It’s also expected to chronicle how Han met Chewbacca, his Wookiee co-pilot and longtime friend and partner. Chewbacca was also confirmed to have a featured role in the film.

The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing the Han Solo spinoff movie from a script penned by The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and his son, Jon Kasdan. Miller honored Star Wars Day on May 4 by posting a photo of Han Solo’s famous handgun (the one that absolutely, positively shot first) on Twitter.

“Can’t wait to get ‘shooting’! #MayThe4thBeWithYou,” reads the photo’s caption.

Can't wait to get "shooting"!#MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/HlteYut6m0

— Chris Miller (@chrizmillr) May 4, 2016

The Han Solo movie has yet to receive an official title, but it’s scheduled to hit theaters May 25, 2018. Between now and then, fans will be able to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on December 16 this year, then Star Wars: Episode VIII on December 15, 2017.

Updated on 07-18-2016 by Rick Marshall: Added news of Disney and Lucasfilm’s official confirmation.

Article originally published on 05-06-2016.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Entertainment

Disney+ releases new poster and featurette for The Mandalorian season 3

Mando wields the darksaber on a poster for The Mandalorian.

The adventures of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal of The Last of Us) will soon return as Disney+ released a new poster and featurette for the third installment of The Mandalorian. The poster features The Mandalorian wielding the Darksaber on top of his spaceship, while the footage highlights the show as a global phenomenon.

After two seasons, The Mandalorian is the most popular Star Wars series on Disney+. The third season's trailer registered 83.5 million views within its first 24 hours, the most ever for a Lucasfilm show, shattering the record previously held by Obi-Wan Kenobi with 58 million views. Even series creator Jon Favreau (Iron Man) admits that the show has taken on a life of its own, something he greatly appreciates.

Entertainment

7 things we wished Disney did differently with the Star Wars sequel trilogy

Fortnite Star Wars Scene

The Star Wars sequel trilogy was a divisive return to the galaxy far, far away. While it held so much promise with the success of The Force Awakens, subsequent films became the target of hate and ridicule from fans and critics to the point that everyone's hopes for the franchise seemed to have been dashed (at least until The Mandalorian came around).

The sad truth is that this trilogy was never going to live up to everyone's expectations, especially not with the astronomically high pedestal they had all placed the franchise on. Despite this, Disney could've done certain things differently that would've made it a more worthy follow-up to the original Star Wars movies.
7. Spacing out the films more

Entertainment

Han Solo with an open heart: Why Solo is the best modern Star Wars movie

Han Solo with blaster in Solo.

For no good reason at all -- and certainly not one related to its content -- Solo: A Star Wars Story has become the bastard child of Disney's Star Wars family, a scapegoat for all the rushed and bad choices made by Disney and Lucasfilm honcho Kathleen Kennedy during the first phase of the Disney Star Wars era (the era that included the sequel trilogy, Rogue One, and Solo).

Other than the distant possibility of a Lando Calrissian spin-off series starring Donald Glover, Solo has become film non grata in the Star Wars universe, despite Disney's seeming willingness to make TV shows out of every square inch of it. Remember that scene in The Empire Strikes Back when ice falls onto R2-D2's head in the Hoth Echo Base corridor? Disney recently announced a 16-episode series about what happened in that corridor. OK, not really, but I'm guessing it also wouldn't surprise anyone if it turned out to be true.