Many Star Wars fans were surprised, and rather disappointed, when Lucasfilm announced that it had chosen Alden Ehrenreich to play the young Han Solo in the character's own solo film. Solo had been perfectly portrayed and was made famous by actor Harrison Ford. It seems that no other actor other than Ford could play the iconic, nerf-herding, space smuggler.
Apparently though, that's not what famous directors Stephen Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola thought. In fact, according to multiple news outlets (via The Hollywood Reporter), they themselves went to Lucasfilm President and Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy to encourage her that Ehrenreich is perfect to play the young Solo.
Going through a lot of auditions, well over 2,500 actors, choosing Han hadn't been a walk in the park. The process had been grueling for Disney. In December, three actors from among thousands were left. They are the following:
> Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction)
> Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service & Eddie the Eagle)
> Alden Ehrenreich (Joel & Hail, Caesar!)
It would seem that Joel and Hail, Caesar! had surprisingly been one of the reasons for Ehrenreich getting approved by Disney-Lucasfilm. However, as pointed out by THR, timing was hardly their reason.
Ehrenreich was reportedly seen by Spielberg in a bat mitzvah video. As for Francis Ford Coppola, who worked with Ehrenreich in two movies, the filmmaker also reached out to Kennedy just to vouch for the 26-year-old.
Take this news with a grain of salt though, since Lucasfilm has not yet commented whether Ehrenreich had indeed been chose.
Do you think Ehrenreich is appropriate enough to portray the young Han Solo?
The Han Solo movie is slated for release on May 25, 2018.
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