With their lead actor finally sewn up, Phil Lord and Chris Miller—directors of Lucasfilm’s upcoming Young Han Solo “A Star Wars Story” film—are now turning their attention to filling out the rest of the ensemble. We heard last night that Lando Calrissian is expected to be part of the cast for the untitled film, which makes sense given that Lando and Han go way back. But the film is also looking to fill the role of its female lead, and apparently casting on that front is winding down.
Mashable reporter Jeff Sneider took to Twitter to share a tidbit of news he’s heard regarding the female lead, revealing that it may be a non-white actress in the role:
Who will this female lead be? We have no idea, and in the existing film canon of Star Wars there’s no “devastating former flame” that we know about (although he had a wife in the comics, which are also canon). That’s the tricky part about this movie—Lord and Miller have to make the story work within the existing Star Wars canon, so while it’s possible we’ll see Han involved in a romantic relationship pre-Princess Leia, or maybe just a close companionship, it also needs to fit within the larger overall story and what we know about the rest of Han's life.
Lando, however, provides significant story fodder given that he and Han have an established history in the Star Wars universe, and according to Birth.Movies.Death, Lord and Miller have a first-choice actor in mind to take the role: Donald Glover. That makes perfect sense and would be an incredible fit, as the Community actor has shown a knack for comedic sensibilities as well as impressive dramatic turns on Girls and the upcoming FX series Atlanta, which Glover created.
Does Glover even want the job? Who knows. But according to this latest rumor, he is the number one choice for Lord and Miller, so he’s certainly a possibility. The filmmakers searched far and wide for their Han Solo before settling on Beautiful Creatures and Hail, Caesar! actor Alden Ehrenreich, who just so happened to be the very first actor that auditioned for the part. We’ve learned never to doubt Lord and Miller as they’ve made a career out of turning bad ideas into great movies (21 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie), and Young Han Solo gives them the opportunity to work with a massive budget, iconic characters, and the most famous franchise in movie history. No pressure.
The untitled Han Solo movie is poised to begin filming in early 2017 in anticipation of a May 25, 2018 release date.
