More than a week after rumors first circulated that Woody Harrelson was in talks to play a “mentor role” in the upcoming young Han Solo movie, it’s now official. Disney and Lucasfilm announced today that the actor will join Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, and Emilia Clarke in the upcoming Star Wars anthology film, which is scheduled for release in 2018.
The film, which does not yet have a synopsis or even a proper title, takes place between Star Wars: Episode III and the original Star Wars and will follow the early exploits of the character originated by Harrison Ford. While we don’t yet know who Harrelson will play in the film, at least one plausible theory is that he’ll be taking on the role of the Expanded Universe’s Garris Shrike, a bounty hunter–turned–pirate who took a young Solo under his wing.
A disgruntled, rebellious mentor role is nothing new for Harrelson, who guided Jennifer Lawrence through most of the Hunger Games movies as Haymitch Abernathy. But if we had to choose, we’d prefer a character more in the style of Harrelson’s True Detective character, with him teaching young Solo to solve space crimes. When you combine Star Wars and True Detective, good things can happen.
One casting announcement we’re still waiting on is for a mysterious female character, rumored to be Han’s first “wife” Sana Starros, after Variety reported in October that Tessa Thompson, Naomi Scott, and Zoe Kravitz had tested for the role.
