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Star Wars Hunts For Young Han Solo: Disney Sees 2,500 Actors


Lucasfilm and Disney are on a massive hunt for an actor to play the young Han Solo in the second standalone film being developed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 2,500 actors have auditioned for the iconic role so far. They've either met with casting directors or sent audition tapes to play the young smuggler. Casting director Jeanne McCarthy, who worked with Lord and Miller on casting the Jump Street films, is leading the charge on this mission to find the perfect young actor to play the young Solo. Here's what the casting agent in the industry said: "This has been the easiest movie to audition for. They are seeing everyone."

Here are some well-known actors who auditioned for the role:

Actors who have read in person or auditioned via videotape range from the well-known (Dave Franco, 30, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 25, and Miles Teller, 28) to the sort-of-known (
Jurassic World
's Nick Robinson, 20) to relative unknowns (
Kickin' It
's Leo Howard, 18, and
The Purge
's Tony Oller, 24) and also vary significantly in age. Though sources say the "sweet spot" seems to be the mid-20s, the ages of the contenders span from Chandler Riggs, the 16-year-old star of
The Walking Dead
, to Hunter Parrish, 28, and
Mr. Robot
star Rami Malek, 34.
Casting directors are not just focusing on American actors, either, considering Canadian
Hemlock Grove
star Landon Liboiron, 23, and English actors Ed Westwick, 28, Tom Felton, 28, and Joshua Sasse, 27, among many, many others.
Others who have thrown their hats in the ring include
Fury
's Logan Lerman, 23,
The Fault in Our Stars
' Ansel Elgort, 21, and
Transformers: Age of Extinction
's Jack Reynor, 23, plus TV faces like
Teen Wolf
's Colton Haynes, 27
,
and
Bates Motel
's Max Thieriot, 27.

There's a lot of big name actors in this list. According to the report, they're looking for someone who looks "at least a bit like a young Ford and can be funny and charming as well as handle the expected action scenes."

Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon are writing the script for this A Star Wars Story film that's developed under the code name "Red Cup." The film is scheduled to start production in January 2017 and is set for release on May 25th, 2018.

So which actor would you like to see play the young Han Solo? You can check out our list of 8 ideal actors who could play the part.

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