It looks like a big name could be joining a galaxy far, far away, as Variety is reporting that Woody Harrelson is up for the role of Han Solo’s mentor in the upcoming standalone film. According to the report, talks are still in the very early stages, but Harrelson is the top choice at the moment. Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter is also reporting that talks are underway, and he also claims that Christian Bale was in the mix at one point. Disney has yet to comment on the reports.
True that Disney & Lucasfilm wanted someone big for HAN SOLO…before Woody Harrelson, CHRISTIAN BALE was the other big name in the mix.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) January 3, 2017
The Han Solo spinoff film will take place prior to “A New Hope” and Alden Ehrenreich will star as the main character. He’ll be joined by Donald Glover who will be playing Lando Calrissian, and Emilia Clarke who will be playing an unnamed love interest in the film.
As of right now the release date for the film is set to be May 25, 2018, but a recent report from Making Star Wars notes that their sources in the theater industry have received a December 13, 2018 release date for a Star Wars film. With that being said, it’s rumored that the film’s release date could get pushed back, but once again that’s just a rumor and far from confirmed at this point.
It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see the film get pushed back to December, as Disney has had good luck in the month of December with “Rogue One” and “The Force Awakens,” and surely “Episode VIII” will be another success story when it’s released in December later this year.
