It’s been rumored for a few months now that Woody Harrelson would be joining the Star Wars universe with a part in the standalone Han Solo movie being released in 2018. But after an interview that took place at the Sundance Film Festival, it seems fans have an answer to that question. During a back and forth about his upcoming projects, Harrelson seemingly admitted that he would be portraying Garris Shrike in the as-yet unnamed young Han Solo spinoff coming down the pike.
Of course, there’s always a chance this is yet more misdirection or confusion about the movie. According to /Film when Harrelson was asked straight up whether he would be playing Shrike, he answered “Yes, I am” but shortly after a Lucasfilm employee tweeted out some thoughts on how that could be completely misconstrued.
https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/823329413429215232
https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/823330391884898304
Of course Woody could have just been messing with the reporter and saying yes to any casting question he was asked, or he could have just been confused, but since it was such a straightforward question that’s probably not the case.
For those not in the know about every random Star Wars universe character, Shrike is the person who gets Han Solo into the con man game in the first place and trains him in all the shifty behaviors needed to be a criminal hopping around the galaxy. He also eventually has a falling out with Solo and they turn against each other, which means this could be an extra meaty role in which Harrelson can show off his significant range as an actor. That is, if this confirmation is in fact a confirmation after.
We’ll have to wait and see until Lucasfilm officially comments on the matter and the cast list is entirely revealed. Until then, imagining Harrelson as Shrike is a pretty fun exercise.
(via /Film)
