Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012, the studio has not been shy about its intentions to rapidly expand the Star Wars cinematic universe.
Not only did the Mouse House begin adding to the classic Skywalker stories last year with “The Force Awakens,” but in December they’ll explore an original trilogy side-story called “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story;” and from there, well, there are so many rumors floating around that the possibility of successfully navigating through every one is approximately 3,720 to 1.
Over the weekend, one such project graduated to “actually happening” status. The long rumored stand-alone Han Solo movie found its lead in “Beautiful Creatures” star, Alden Ehrenreich. According to countless movie rumor sites, Ehrenreich beat out actors like Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Dave Franco and Taron Egerton for the part — and for you regular YouTube consumers, apparently Anthony Ingruber as well.
The 26-year-old rising star will be donning the vest made famous by Harrison Ford in 1977’s “Star Wars,” and like always, Disney is keeping every other detail about the project under wraps; though it seems safe to assume the movie will take place between “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.”
On a personal note, I think Ehrenreich is a reasonably charismatic guy.
In all likelihood, he’ll find that balance between Ford’s iconic performance and some authentic Ehrenreich take on the character. However, I was hoping Disney would drop this project entirely. There are so many interesting pieces of the Star Wars galaxy to explore, going the prequel route with a beloved character seems really unnecessary. But, you know, money.