Disney's young Han Solo search narrows to final shortlist of actors

PanARMENIAN.Net - The search for the young actor who will fill Han Solo's leather vest could be in its final stages, as multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that a shortlist quietly has emerged.

According to sources, last weekend in London tests were conducted involving actors Alden Ehrenreich, who did scene-stealing work in Hail, Caesar!; Jack Reynor, best known for his work in Transformers: Age of Extinction; and Taron Egerton, the star of The Kingsman and Eddie the Eagle.

Sources say there could be a few other names on the list, though due to the high level of secrecy on all Star Wars projects, it’s hard to ascertain them. Disney declined to comment.

Those who tested — and it’s unclear if these were costume tests or screen tests — were plucked from a previous group of around 10 actors who met with the directors. Among the names whispered to have met are Miles Teller, the Whiplash star who appears in the Divergent movies; and Ansel Elgort, the Fault in Our Stars star who also is in the Divergent movies.

Emory Cohen, who played Saoirse Ronan’s love interest in the Oscar-nominated Brooklyn, also tested. Actors from Richard Linklater’s new movie Everybody Wants Some also had meetings, according to sources.

Disney and Lucasfilm have searched from Alderaan to Yavin to find the new star, with sources saying that more than 2,500 actors have either met with those in charge of casting or put themselves on tape, becoming part of one of the widest casting calls ever.

As THR reported in December, Disney cast a wide net to find the right actor to play a younger version of the character made famous by Harrison Ford in 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope, as well as The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and 2015's The Force Awakens.

The character will debut in a Star Wars spinoff movie being made by Disney, Lucasfilm and filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie) and scheduled for 2018.

Ford's swaggering Solo is considered a standout character of the seven-film Star Wars series. The 73-year-old actor’s appearance as Solo in The Force Awakens was a major factor in the movie’s critical and commercial success.