As Lucasfilm gear up to unleash a plethora of Star Wars spinoffs, casting agents across Hollywood are no doubt working tirelessly to get their talent in front of them.
Kathleen Kennedy announced that the upcoming Han Solo origins story will feature the character in his late teens to early twenties, meaning we'll be see a far younger actor in the role than we're used to. It poses an interesting question - what would a fresh-faced, untested Han Solo look like? Kennedy also pointed to the character's wry humour and wit, which directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller will undoubtedly bring to the fore. Moreover, Kennedy called the film more closer to an adventure comedy - which has us all kinds of excited.
So, with this all in mind, we've picked nine potential choices for the role. It's entirely possible that Lord / Miller will go with a complete unknown, as Abrams did with Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens.
And just for posterity, here's an 18-year old Harrison Ford to gauge our choices against.
- EZRA MILLER
Ezra Miller most recently turned up in Trainwreck as the creepy intern Donald, but he's been doing quite well for himself of late. Miller also starred alongside Emma Watson in 2012's The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and the unsettling We Need To Talk About Kevin. In all of his performances, he's known for going full-on and being incredibly intense. That might be a bit much, but considering how funny he was in Trainwreck, we're guessing he's got comedic chops that'll play to his favour. Give him a decent haircut and he'll look the part.
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- LIAM AIKEN
Liam Aiken had a small role in the fantastic Road To Perdition and was one of the leads in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Since then, he's been cropping up in a number of smaller, more arthouse features and honed his craft. At 25, he's at the perfect age to play an untested Captain Solo, so he's definitely worth a shout. The only thing standing against him is that he's untested in top-lining a huge franchise such as this.
- ANSEL ELGORT
Elgort's performance in The Fault In Our Stars was hailed by fans and critics alike and he's got that same kind of wry sensibility that Ford has. Plus, the physical similarities weigh in his favour. He's well-known to audiences, thanks to the aforementioned The Fault In Our Stars and Divergent and he could easily lead a franchise such as this. One of the stronger contenders on this list.
- AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON
Although he might look a lot older than anyone on this list, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is only 25. So that puts him in contention. He's known to Disney thanks to Avengers: Age of Ultron, so he's able to open a film on his own. The downsides? He's a pretty terrible actor, quite frankly. If Lucasfilm was to make decision in a cold, logical, on-paper basis, then Taylor-Johnson would win. He would be, however, the worst choice. Sorry, Aaron.
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- 5. JOSH HUTCHERSON
Hutcherson's already attached to one huge franchise - The Hunger Games. That, however, finishes up later this year with Mockingjay, Pt. II so we're guessing he's gonna be looking for work shortly afterwards. Although he didn't experience the same career spring that Jennifer Lawrence did, he's got a presence on screen that'll work for him. Where he might falter is that, from what we've seen of his work, he doesn't have much in the way of charisma or humour. That could very well change with a good script.
- KODI SMITH-McPHEE
Smith-McPhee is due to star in X-Men: Apocalypse as the younger Nightcrawler, taking over the role from Alan Cumming and he'll no doubt feature in the follow-up to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. He's a talented young actor, however the physical similarities are definitely lacking. Again, it all depends on how they're going to portray Solo. Will it be a wet-behind-the-ears, greenhorn or is he already on his way to becoming the swaggering space pirate we know him to be? If it's the former, Smith-McPhee could be an option.
- LIAM HEMSWORTH
As we mentioned, the script and story is going to play a huge part in exactly who will be cast. Liam Hemsworth, we feel, is the closest in looking physically similar to Harrison Ford. He's got a huge following thanks to The Hunger Games AND he's the younger brother of Chris Hemsworth. He's quite a decent actor when he wants to be, so being handed the reins of one of the most iconic on-screen character will require a great deal of effort.
- EVAN PETERS
Evan Peters is also, we think, quite similar to Harrison Ford. Moreover, he especially has that cynical sensibility and is quite at home with action sequences and comedic sequences. His turn in X-Men: Days of Future Past as Quicksilver was one of the highlights of the film and he's definitely on the rise. Our personal favourite to take the role.
- SHIA LaBEOUF
JUST... .DO IT.... MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE. DO IT. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, LUCASFILM? DO IT.
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Have you thought about it at all? Who would you cast? Does anyone on the list have the potential to be as super a star as Harrison Ford?
