So, just how valuable and important is Han Solo as a brand to "Star Wars"? The spinoff movie, slated to be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, isn’t due to start shooting until over a year from now in January 2017 — and yet, casting has already begun for the lead role, and the net is being thrown very, very wide.
THR reports that more than 2,500 actors have met or have put themselves on tape for the movie, and unlike J.J. Abrams, who wanted to go with largely unknown actors for the leads in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," bigger stars are being turned away from the Han Solo movie. Dave Franco, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Miles Teller, Nick Robinson ("Jurassic World"), Logan Lerman, Ansel Elgort, Jack Reynor, Colton Haynes, Max Thieriot, Leo Howard ("Kickin’ It"), Tony Oller ("The Purge"), Chandler Riggs ("The Walking Dead"), Hunter Parrish, Rami Malek, Landon Liboiron ("Hemlock Grove"), Ed Westwick, Tom Felton, and Joshua Sasse are among the thousands giving it a shot for the job.
Basically, anyone who sorta looks like a young Harrison Ford, can be funny and charming, and is their mid-20s (or can pass for being in their mid-20s, as some of the contenders are teenagers or over 30 years old) is being considered. So it could be one of these names, or someone else entirely.
That said, it’s certainly a starting point for fans to start furiously debating who should pilot the Millennium Falcon. The untitled Han Solo movie arrives on May 25, 2018.