Pictured above: (Left) Harrison Ford at age 20 and (Right) Tye Sheridan
A whirlwind of new Star Wars movies are on the way thanks to George Lucas selling rights to Disney. We were pleasantly surprised when Disney announced they will be making a Han Solo movie, which will be released in 2018. Han fricking Solo! How awesome is that? You can read more about the movie here. The reps at Lucasfilm also revealed the age of Solo for the movie.
“He’ll definitely be probably in the high teens, low 20s. We’re not introducing you to a 10-year-old Han Solo.”- Kathleen Kennedy
So this puts us about 15 years before the timeline of the original trilogy. Having a teenage Han Solo places casting in a tricky situation. We are talking about one of the most loved Star Wars characters. The original casting was perfect and escalated Harrison Ford to mega stardom. Filling his shoes will be incredibly difficult and it will have to be done by a young actor.
In the Star Wars prequels, some were upset to see Jake Lloyd as a young Anakin Skywalker, and more were less than pleased with Hayden Christensen’s performance as the early incarnation of Darth Vader. With a portrayed age range of around 18-23, it will be a hard to find the perfect actor that blends the characters charm, witty banter, and confidant attitude of our favorite scruffy-looking nerf herder.
While many speculators have jumped on the Chris Pratt for the Han bandwagon, at 36, he is already years older than Harrison Ford, who was around 33 when filming began for Star Wars. We can speculate that the actor who lands the role will need to be younger than 27, when filming begins to even remotely portray the age range Disney is looking for. We already know that the directors will be Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have worked on The Lego Movie, 22 Jump Street, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. From their previous films, we can expect the Han Solo film to be aimed for a young adult movie crowd, with a focus on comedy and adventure.
Below is a list of 8 actors who have a good blend of characteristics that match Solo’s persona in the original trilogy. In order to be as realistic as possible, we only looked at actors who were in a realistic age range.
Taron Edgerton
Gage Skidmore - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/14759971606/
Taron is looking like an upcoming star after doing a magnificent portrayal of a young super spy in Kingsman: The Secret Service. In Kingsman, Taron showcased his school boy charisma with an edgy rough-em-up attitude that simulates Solo. While Han is more of a down-and-dirty smuggler, if you take away the fancy suits from Kingsman and toss Edgerton some nerf herding clothes, he should do just fine. Taron is right on the edge of the age limit to play a young Han. If filming begins within the next 2 years, he can probably manage to pull of a younger Solo in his early 20’s.
Liam Hemsworth
Gage Skidmore - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/19649352682/
Liam is already an accomplished actor with the Hunger Games under his belt. Many are familiar with his older brother Chris Hemsworth, who portrays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This year at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con, MTV floated the idea to Hemsworth about playing Han Solo. You can view MTV's video below and skip ahead to the 2 minute mark to see what Liam thinks of the idea.
Liam didn’t fall head over heels for Han, but it sounds like he definitely would be interested in the role. Liam is a pretty big guy, and looks a little older than a 20 year old Han, but he might be able to pull it off.
Asa Butterfield
Joella Marano - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellasportfolio/6385155045/
Poor Asa, he thought he would land the role of Marvel’s iconic Spider-Man superhero. Although he made it as one of the final candidates for the film, Sony pushed Marvel into selecting Tom Holland for the role of the famous webslinger. While Asa lost there, it frees him up to do other roles, such as the young Han Solo. Asa is most well known for his movie Ender’s Game, where he starred alongside… guess who? Harrison Ford! In an interview with Access Hollywood, Ford said he was impressed with Asa’s acting abilities and his work ethic. Perhaps with a chat with Ford and a solid audition, Asa could land his biggest role yet as a young Han Solo.
Nicholas Hoult
Gage Skidmore - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/19752716152/Nicholas
Hoult caught our attention after playing Beast in X-Men: First Class. He later landed a role in Mad Max: Fury Road, and will be reprising his Beast role in X-Men: Apocalypse next year. Hoult is another guy that is pushing the age limit for the role, but has an established repertoire of excellent acting. His biggest challenge would be pulling of the charismatic rough attitude that contrasts to the more nerdy nature of his Beast performances.
Callan McAuliffe
Eva Rinaldi - https://www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/6795374135/
Callan is a young actor who is best known for appearing in I Am Number Four, which was distributed by Disney. Callan will star in a new western movie, The Legend of Ben Hall, in 2016. The experience of the grittiness in a western, might help rub off on a performance as Han for Disney. Callan is a young actor at 20, which is perfect for a young Han Solo. He also has the good humor, grin, and charisma that will fit the character perfectly. Young actors are unpredictable, but Callan could be a great fit for the role.
Nick Robinson
Universal Pictures
Nick Robinson is just 20-years-old and has come off of a dream role as an unfortunate tourist in Jurassic World, which is now the 3rd highest grossing film of all time. Nick has gotten a lot of publicity as a result. He recently landed a role in Sony Pictures’ new sci-fi blockbuster The 5th Wave. Could Nick’s recent success propel him to land a role as Han Solo? Time will tell.
Timothée Chalamet
Warner Bros
Timothée is another upcoming actor who barely missed the cut for the 2017 Spider-Man movie. He managed to make it into Sony and Marvel's Top 5 finalist’s for the role. Timothée most recent notable film is Interstellar, where he played opposite Matthew McConaughey. Timothy has a very energetic, captivating, and commanding presence, which could correspond well to a young Han Solo. His biggest detractor is that he doesn’t quite have the young Harrison Ford look.
Tye Sheridan
Gage Skidmore - https://flic.kr/p/va7zRJ
Last but not least, is Tye Sheridan. We think Tye has the look that can compliment a young Harrison, as well as the acting chops. Tye did a good job in the movie Mud, recently finished filming for Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, and will also be in the new X-Men: Apocalypse movie. Tye seems to hit all the requirements needed for a young Han Solo, and looks like a great fit. We wouldn’t be surprised at all to learn if he was a top candidate for the Han Solo movie.
That's the list! We are excited to see what the future holds for Star Wars now that Disney is pumping out new material. Our hope is that they will concentrate on quality rather than a quick bump in sales. Star Wars is an awesome franchise, and it would be terrible to see rushed casting, scripts, or poor production in a new movie. Based on the brief snippets of video and available content for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney's plan for the franchise is looking pretty amazing, and we hope that the Han Solo stand-alone movie will be too!
Do you agree with our potential casting choices for the young Han Solo? Who do you think should get the role? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!