On paper, doing a Star Wars spin-off film about a young Han Solo seems like a great idea, but in reality, it’s a tricky prospect. If you don’t find just the right guy to play young Han, the whole project falls apart, and there aren’t many actors who can fill Harrison Ford’s dusty vest. But surely Disney had some names in mind before they greenlit their Han Solo anthology movie, right? Turns out they didn’t.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney is giving tryouts to basically any young-ish actor who looks even remotely like Ford. So far, they’ve auditioned more than 2,500 actors and apparently still haven’t found their man.
The highest-profile names who’ve auditioned to date include Miles Teller (Whiplash, Fantastic Four), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Dave Franco (James Franco’s brother). Other known names in the running include Nick Robinson (Jurassic World), Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead), Rami Malek (Mr. Robot), Landon Liboiron (Hemlock Grove), Logan Lerman (Fury), Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf) and Max Thieriot (Bates Motel). Phew, that’s a list.
I can’t help but feel like Disney is kind of missing the point going after all these up-and-coming Tiger Beat-ready dudes. Harrison Ford was just some LA-area carpenter George Lucas happened to know before he cast him in American Graffiti and Star Wars. They need to think further outside the box if they want to find somebody who captures some of that unique Harrison Ford everyman essence. Of course, Disney already has the perfect young Han Solo on their hands, but unfortunately, they already have Chris Pratt doing the space cowboy thing in Guardians of the Galaxy. Who do you think should pick up Han Solo’s blaster?
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
