Disney Releases Cast Picture for “Han Solo” Movie

Variety reported that filming on the as yet untitled Star Wars prequel about the adventures of a young Han Solo began at Pinewood Studios on Monday, February 20, 2017. Disney released a picture of the cast members for the new movie on February 21.

Alden Ehrenreich stars as the dashing Corellian rogue.  Alden is shown in the center of the picture, wearing a blue shirt and a leather jacket. His SF/fantasy experience is limited to the movie Beautiful Creatures and one episode of Supernatural.  However, he has worked with Francis Ford Coppola, the Coen Brothers, Woody Allen, and Warren Beatty in various films. On the far right is Donald Glover, who according to IndieWire will play Han’s friend Lando Calrissian. He is the star and creator of the TV show Atlanta.  Joonas Suotomo, already in costume, will play Chewbacca.  Suotomo, a Finnish actor and athlete, was Peter Mayhew’s body double in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Emmy-winner  Woody Harrelson will portray Han’s mentor.  In addition to his work on Cheers  (where he co-starred with Star Trek II‘s Kirstie Alley), he also appeared in The Hunger Games as Katniss Everdeen’s mentor Haymitch Abernathy and will be playing a human colonel in the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes.

The jacketed gentleman in the bottom left hand corner of the picture is director Chris Miller.  The man in the brown sweater is director Phil Lord.  The pair will be directing the movie together, just as they did for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, and the reboot of 21 Jump Street.

The lady between Woody Harrelson and Alden Ehrenreich is English actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, best known in the United States for Broadchurch and Fleabag.  Emilia Clarke, famous as Daenerys Targaryen  in Game of Thrones is between Ehrenreich and Chewbacca. Also cast in the movie, but not shown above, is Thandie Newton of Westworld. Their names, and the name of Harrelson’s character, have not been revealed yet.

StarWars.com said the movie will focus on Han and Chewbacca’s adventures before Star Wars: A New Hope. Disney has not said yet how far before the original trilogy this film is set. Father and son scriptwriters Lawrence and Jon Kasdan have not given many hints about the plot or the setting.  It may cover the events of the books by Brian Daley, L. Neil Smith, and A. C. Crispin, or it may focus on an even younger Han, possibly with an eye to catching the YA market.

The Han Solo movie is due to be released May 25, 2018.

[Feature image via Disney]

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.