Star Wars: Steven Spielberg Discovered New Han Solo At A Bat Mitzvah
Director vouched for Alden Ehrenreich.
Alden Ehrenreich beat out thousands to land the role of Han Solo, but it now turns out that he had some support from a couple of Hollywood's most celebrated directors.
The Hail, Caesar! actor was on the final three man shortlist, alongside Tranformers' Jack Reynor and Kingsman: The Secret Service's Taron Egerton, and The Hollywood Reporter are saying that both Steven Spielberg and Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola vouched for Ehrenreich to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
Spielberg has had a long working relationship with Kennedy, since the pair worked together on the Indiana Jones franchise (and will be reuniting for Indy 5), and more interestingly it's reported that he's the one who actually discovered Ehrenreich, in a bat mitzvah video when the actor was just 14. Coppola, meanwhile, gave him his first two movie roles, in Tetro and Twixt.
With the likes of Miles Teller and Emery Cohen also said to be in the running, THR notes that Ehrenreich had to go in for a number of tests, but various factors helped him ultimately win the part. He was one of the highlights of the Coen's Hail, Caesar!, while part of the reason Egerton was overlooked is because he's already committed to two franchises - Kingsman and Robin Hood: Origins.
Does this mean Lucasfilm are looking to turn Han Solo into a franchise of his own? There's going to be no end of Star Wars movies coming over the next decade or so, and if the spin-off's a hit then it wouldn't be a surprise, especially with Chris Miller and Phil Lord behind it.
Ehrenreich can next be seen in Warren Beatty's untitled Howard Hughes movie, while the Han Solo film is set for release on May 25, 2018 (though don't be surprised if that gets pushed back to December).