Alden Ehrenreich Set To Play Han Solo In Future Star Wars Movies
The fresh face behind the scruffy-looking nerf herder is here to stay.
During an interview with Esquire's Alex Pappademas for the magazine's latest cover story, actor Alden Ehrenreich inadvertently revealed that his role as young Han Solo in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story isn't a one-time-only thing. Rather, the 28-year-old star will portray the iconic smuggler originated by Harrison Ford for at least two more movies beyond Solo.
Sensing that Ehrenreich has a deeper commitment to the Star Wars saga than anyone truly realizes, Pappademas asked the actor how many films he's signed up to star in. Without missing a beat, Ehrenreich responded, "Three."
The Solo star then flinched, instantly recognizing that what he just let slip has the potential to create a great disturbance in the Force — and likely ruffle some feathers at Lucasfilm. "I don't know if that's officially, uh, public. But — yeah," Ehrenreich added.
Whether this collection of new Star Wars films Ehrenreich is attached to is its own trilogy remains unclear, though considering the franchise's history of bundling entries into threes — the originals, the prequels, and the sequels — we're willing to bet it all on the chance that Solo: A Star Wars Story is the first installment in a Han Solo-centric triple-take.
What is clearer now than ever is that, with Ehrenreich on board for three films, Lucasfilm sees potential in the actor, a notion that wasn't so plausible less than a year ago. Past reports indicated that the studio brought on acting coach Maggie Kiley (21 Jump Street) to assist Ehrenreich after original Solo directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired from the film, which was well into production at that time, and replaced by Ron Howard. Several outlets noted that Lucasfilm wasn't "entirely satisfied" with Ehrenreich's performance as a whole and wanted him to have a coach to turn to. In retrospect, the studio's dissatisfaction may have had more to do with Lord and Miller's direction — which apparently didn't align with Lucasfilm's in the slightest — than Ehrenreich's own acting abilities.
We'll have a better idea of what might come after Solo: A Star Wars Story, and how Ehrenreich's Han Solo will fit into the franchise's future, when the film zooms into theaters on May 25.