On Tuesday the film world was rocked by the news that Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the duo behind The Lego Movie and the two hit 21 Jump Street films, have been hired to direct a Star Wars spin-off movie centred on a young Han Solo. Thanks to Harrison Ford’s great performance, the wisecracking captain of the Millennium Falcon has become one of cinema’s most beloved characters. Stepping into his shoes is no easy task, but these 10 actors might be up for the challenge.
Chris Pratt
Rumours have been circulating for months that Pratt (pictured above) is all but guaranteed to play Indiana Jones in a planned reboot for the series, so the idea of the actor playing another famous role originated by Harrison Ford seems like a bit of a stretch. Still, the actor is a favourite of Miller and Lord, having voiced the lead character in The Lego Movie, and it’s been proven that he’s got the charisma and box-office draw to lead a movie. He currently stars in Jurassic World, the top film of the year so far, and broke out in last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the highest grossing film of 2014 in the US.
Michael Angarano
The Brooklyn-born actor has the rugged good looks needed to play Solo. He’s also a damn fine actor. Despite strong performances in a number of films including Red State, The Brass Teapot, Sky High and the upcoming Stanford Prison Experiment, Angarano has yet to hit the big time. He’s deserving and Star Wars would no doubt do the trick.
Jamie Bell
The British star knows a thing or two about working in the blockbuster realm, having starred in Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake, the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot and Steven Spielberg’s computer-animated The Adventures of Tintin.
He is also a marvellously physical actor (see his breakout performance as a ballet dancer in Billy Elliot) and devilishly handsome — two traits that whoever plays Solo must possess.
Nick Robinson
More youthful-looking than his 22 years would lead you to believe, Robinson first broke out in the charming Sundance Film Festival coming-of-age comedy The Kings of Summer, before going on to rule the summer box office with Jurassic World as one of two brothers who get stranded in the dinosaur park after all hell breaks loose.
Thanks to the latter he is now a familiar face, and he more than held his own opposite Chris Pratt, which bodes well for his ability to carry a film as huge as this Star Wars spin-off.
Dave Franco
Like Han Solo, Franco exudes effortless sex appeal; he’s hot and he knows it. And like the character, he also knows how to poke fun at himself.
Over his past decade in the film business, Franco has distinguished himself from his older, more famous brother by showing a mischievous, devilish side in comedies like Neighbors, 21 Jump Street and Warm Bodies. Also working in his favour: he voiced a character in The Lego Movie.
Thomas Mann
Mann emerged as arguably the biggest actor breakout of this year’s Sundance Film Festival thanks to his star-making turn as a film-obsessed loner in the event’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience award winner Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
He’s now in crazy demand with a slew of projects in the works and has his other Sundance film, The Stanford Prison Experiment, set to open in the US shortly. He’s lovable in Me and Earl but doesn’t work too hard to earn your sympathy — just what Solo calls for.
Michael B Jordan
Jordan had to dodge criticism from comic-book fanboys after being cast as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in Josh Trank’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot due to the colour of his skin.
He handled it beautifully by penning a first-person essay titled “Why I’m Torching the Colour Line” for Entertainment Weekly, and would probably have to do something similar if he were cast as Solo. We say bring it: Jordan is one of the most promising young actors to come around in years, and his casting could usher in a new generation of fans to the Star Wars universe.
Josh Hutcherson
Hutcherson has endeared himself to a legion of female fans thanks to his heart-rending performance as Peeta in the Hunger Games movies.
While strong in that blockbuster franchise, he played second fiddle to Jennifer Lawrence’s ass-kicking heroine. But he proved he has what it takes to lead a movie in the recent thriller Escobar: Paradise Lost, by not getting blown off the screen by Benecio Del Toro, his chief adversary in the film.
Shia LaBeouf
Before courting derision for his bizarre public antics, LaBeouf was one of the most exciting young actors working in Hollywood. If he gets his act together, Solo could mark a major comeback for the once-promising talent.
Having led three Transformers movies, the actor knows a thing or two about headlining a major franchise, and no matter what you make of Michael Bay’s blockbuster trilogy, there’s no denying that LaBeouf gave it his all in all three.
Ellen Page
This might be a bit of a stretch considering Solo is male but of all the actors mentioned in this list, Page is the only actor to have portrayed the character once before.
In Jason Reitman’s live stage-reading of The Empire Strikes Back late last year, Page took on Solo, against Jessica Alba, who was tasked with playing Princess Leia. Page earned raves for line delivery, so if Disney and Lucasfilm want to really shake the Star Wars universe up, they could do a lot worse than casting Page, an actress who proved in Juno that she’s a master at droll delivery.
