Over 2,500 actors have so far auditioned for the role of young Han Solo in the forthcoming Star Wars spin-off movie, in a wide-ranging Hollywood casting search that has been described as one of the biggest ever.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, industry sources have suggested that Phil Lord and Chris Miller, joint directors of the Han Solo “origins” film that was announced in summer 2015, have yet to cast an actor in the role made famous by Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars trilogy, and are “seeing everyone”.
Actors thought to have auditioned for the role include Kick-Ass’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Whiplash’s Miles Teller and Now You See Me’s Dave Franco. Other names in the frame are Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Logan Lerman (Fury) and Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction).
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the project is operating under code name Red Cup, a reference to the plastic cup made by the Solo Cup Company. The as-yet-untitled Solo film is due to start shooting in January 2017, with a projected release date in May 2018 following Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is to be written and directed by Rian Johnson and released in 2017.
