Last year, we learned that a huge slate of Star Wars-themed sequels, prequels and spin-offs were in the pipeline at Disney. One of the biggest projects was a combo prequel/spinoff, featuring the story of a pre-New Hope Han Solo. This is not going to be a straight up origin story with Han Solo’s childhood! The focus was always going to be on Han Solo as a 20-something dude, what he was up to before he met Luke Skywalker. The casting call went far and wide, and eventually Disney had the list culled to a who’s who of “really?” The shortlist featured names like Miles Teller, Scott Eastwood, Alden Ehrenreich, Logan Lerman, Emory Cohen and Ansel Elgort. The list was culled even further back in March, and now industry sources say that Disney has finally found their Young Solo: 26-year-old Alden Ehrenreich.
After thousands of actors were considered to portray a younger Han Solo for a “Star Wars” spinoff, Alden Ehrenreich has landed the coveted role. Hollywood sources tell us Ehrenreich has signed on to play the iconic role, made famous by Harrison Ford, in the new movie, slated for 2018, which will focus on Solo before he joined the Rebel Alliance.
One insider told us of Ehrenreich, 26, who most recently appeared in “Hail, Caesar!”: “Alden really impressed Disney and Lucasfilm execs with his screen tests. The deal is basically done.”
Relatively little-known Ehrenreich — who’s also the lead in Warren Beatty’s upcoming, untitled Howard Hughes project with Fox — beat out candidates including “Divergent” stars Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort, Scott Eastwood, “Kingsman” and “Eddie the Eagle” star Taron Egerton, and “Sing Street” star Jack Reynor. The casting of the Han Solo character has been so shrouded in secrecy it was named “Project Red Cup,” in reference to the ubiquitous red plastic Solo cups.
The film won’t start shooting until January, but reports are that the early casting is because the new Solo will have a cameo in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which is now shooting. That film is said to be set between “Episode III” and “Episode IV.” Reps for Ehrenreich didn’t get back to us.
I thought Rogue One was already in the can, but maybe not if they’re giving themselves time to film a quickie cameo with the new Solo. As for this choice… I don’t hate it. Alden is probably one of the best choices from the shortlist they had. He’s attractive (very much so), boyish, but with a slight bad-boy vibe that is desperately needed for Han Solo.
I wanted to hear his voice, so I looked up some interviews and… this kid is CUTE. He has a really sexy smile. Nice voice too.
I kind of feel sorry for all of the other studios, films and TV shows that were trying to get attention at this year’s Comic-Con, because Star Wars really went all out. People were crying. People were freaking out. No one could hide their glee. And props to JJ Abrams for bringing everyone out for Comic-Con – seriously, I think every major cast member of Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out. Even (dun dun dun) Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. It was amazing! This was Harrison’s first time at Comic-Con and his first big public appearance since his plane crash in March. All of the joy and tears were mostly for Harrison, if we’re being honest. To see a grizzled old Han Solo up there with grizzled Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher… OMG. Harrison made jokes (he told the crowd he “walked here”) and explained why he decided to come back to the beloved franchise:
“It should’ve felt ridiculous. [The first movie] was 30 years ago, and I sort of grew up. And yet here I was doing something I did so long ago and I will tell you that it felt great… I wasn’t so sure it would be but the company was the right company, the director was the right director. Larry [Kasdan] wrote us a wonderful story and I was proud and grateful to once again be involved. The original Star Wars that I was a part of really was the beginning of my working life and I was very, very grateful for the opportunity that I had in that film and for the success of that film. It was great to be back… [I didn’t expect this to] come back to bless me rather than haunt me. I was very grateful when I read the script because I read something that I thought was really remarkable, really well written and with some very intriguing developments.”
After the panel, JJ and the cast invited everyone to a big surprise concert of Star Wars music performed by the San Diego Symphony. Disney really spent a lot of money on this year’s Comic-Con, right?
When I say that every major cast member was there, I really mean it. These are the cast members who came out, in addition to Harrison, Carrie and Mark: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Gwendoline Christie. We also found out that Driver and Christie are definitely playing bad guys…? And they released this new “behind the scenes” video that gave me chills.
We’re giving you gossip from all over the damn galaxy. Star Wars has its own Instagram account now, and on it, Darth Vader posted a “selfie” (above). It’s pretty cute. Sarah Jessica Parker also just got on Instagram, so I’d say it’s your move, Bradshaw. Your move.
I wonder if they found their new Han Solo yet. Or whatever this ad is for.
Do you think this kind of marketing is funny and cute or ridiculous and insulting to the series?
Benedict Cumberbatch has already taped his episode of Graham Norton, which airs tonight in England. It doesn’t air on BBC America until next week, I think, but it doesn’t matter because Graham Norton’s shows are put on YouTube very quickly, so I’m sure I’ll be covering the interview this weekend. These are promotional images from the show, obviously – NO CUMBERCURLS. Still, he looks good. Ben got to do the show with Harrison Ford, and apparently there was a lot of fan-girling, mostly on Benedict’s part. But Harrison did say that he’s a fan of Ben’s Sherlock. Apparently, Ben told Harrison: “When I met you in LA at a party we talked and I made a complete idiot of myself. You were very nice but I said, ‘I am a really, really big fan, I used to fantasize about you…’ What I meant to say was I used to fantasize about being Han Solo and Indy. You took it very well and said ‘it takes all sorts.’” Funny.
There’s some coverage of the show ahead of the airing, but it’s nothing spoiler-y. When asked about Sherlock Season 3, Cumby says: “I can’t say an awful lot but he comes back, there’s a reunion that doesn’t go as planned, there’s a wedding and there’s a new bad guy.” When asked how Sherlock survived, he said: “Smoke and mirrors.”
Also: as I mentioned in another post, Ben’s doing a Reddit AMA today at 2:30 EST I think. It should be either amazing or completely terrible. We’ll see. And Ben was interviewed on Good Morning America this morning (sorry this is such sh-tty quality, it was all I could find update: better quality video below):
And here’s a nice bonus – Benedict’s behind-the-scenes of his People Mag shoot. He was named one of the “Ones To Watch”. OMG HIS VOICE.
Promotional images courtesy of Graham Norton Show, BBC.
Is anyone else getting kind of obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch’s mouth? I know his beautiful almond-shaped eyes are wildly popular amongst the Cumber Collective, but we need to start making his beautiful lips into a thing. Anyway, Star Trek Into Darkness opens in the UK tomorrow, but American Cumberbitches won’t get to see it until next weekend (CB promised to go with me!). So, we still have another week full of Cumbertastic interviews, although I swear that some of you are already over him. This is a marathon, Cumberbitches, not a sprint. Eat a power bar, take a nap and then obsess, obsess, obsess. Some interesting highlights from Cumby’s latest Time Out interview:
He’s a Star Trek agnostic: ‘Yes, very much agnostic, that would be the term. I didn’t reject it. I’m not Richard Dawkins. I’m not a “Star Trek” atheist! I got a sentimental kick during the reboot, though, so there must have been something there. I think because it was on BBC Two before the six o’clock news. But as far as escapism went, “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” got more under my skin. I’ve got a respect for “Star Trek” now. I remember even at the time thinking these were quite tight morality plays and it wasn’t just about the fastidiousness and endless detail that people can obsess over in the Trekkie universe. Which is great…’
Working on The Hobbit: ‘Working on “Star Trek”, you can marry your role slightly to real-life experiences but, playing Smaug in “The Hobbit”, it’s impossible to do that – he’s a 400-year-old firebreathing worm who lives on top of a pile of gold and likes eating doors. Obviously, I’m personally a biped rather than a serpent, so the motion-capture element is limited. I was mainly on my belly on the floor playing at being a dragon. It was like being a kid: no marks, no make-up, no continuity, no worries about camera positions. It was so much fun.’
On playing Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate: ‘I didn’t want to hang him out to dry, I wanted to give a fair account of him. It’s a living story, and the moral responsibility was very much part of the job. I tried to reach out to him, to communicate with him, and he was having none of it as far as a meeting goes. He felt that a meeting would condone a film he felt was too poisonous an account. He got hold of an old script and all sorts of issues blew up when we were filming. He tried to attack it and in his position I’d do the same, probably. We had a discussion, though, which was good. If Julian is feeling that way, politically, he’s right not to let [a meeting] happen, because it would be like a blessing.’
His rising level of fame: ‘Yes, everyone’s saying that… “It’s going to go to another level”, “Benedict blasts off”, “It’s going to go into warp drive”, and all those terrible puns! But I go: “Well, yeah, I know James McAvoy, and he’s okay. Michael Fassbender, I know a little bit, and he’s doing fine.” It’s possible to remain grounded. It’s all a bit of an adjustment. I can’t be anything but flattered because of the attention towards the work.’
On being his ‘Sexiest’ title: ‘It’s very nice. As you can see, I’m okay-looking. I don’t really get it.’
[From Time Out]
When I first read this, it kind of bugged me that Cumby is comparing himself – again! – to Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Tom Hardy (that was in the last interview). But when you think about it… he pretty much IS at the same level. It’s not like he’s comparing himself to Daniel Day-Lewis or something. At the age of 36, Cumby IS around the same age as Fassbender (36), Hardy (35), and McAvoy (34), and as far as the work goes… much like Fassbender in particular, there’s a slow-burn quality to Cumby’s career. Cumby has been working for years and it wasn’t until Sherlock that he suddenly became a real celebrity. And 2013 is The Year of Cumby, much like 2011 was The Year of Fassbender. But… Cumby name-drops his contemporaries so often, and he compares himself publicly to those guys so often, it does seem… Goopy. He should just let other people praise him and do the comparisons, you know?
Oh, and Cumby also has a new piece in USA Today – it’s mostly a snooze, just stuff we’ve already heard before. But at the end, Cumby is asked about his Star Wars love, and he goes off on a wonderful tangent:
Immersing himself in sci-fi, though, is a bit of childhood wish fulfillment. While he enjoyed the morality tales of the original Star Trek reruns he watched over biscuits and tea in the early evening, he grew up adoring Star Wars — along with Indiana Jones, Han Solo was one of “the coolest, most aspirational heroes of my childhood,” he says.
Ask Cumberbatch if he’s available for Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, and he lets loose an impressive Wookiee roar in return.
“Where’s Chewbacca in all of this? You want little baby Ewok-sized Chewbacca and a whole family of Chewbaccas,” the actor says, fan-casting a subplot to the upcoming movie. (If you play a dragon in a movie, you can probably also play a furry co-pilot who growls a lot.)
“It’s safe to say that J.J. knows my work and has my number. It would be great fun. Just promise me you won’t have a banner headline where it goes, ‘USA TODAY exclusive: Cumberbatch wants in with Star Wars director J.J. Abrams,’ ” he adds, laughing. “The worst way to try and get a job I think is to tout it in a national newspaper.”
[From USA Today]
I want to hear Cumby’s Chewbacca roar. RAWR!! You know he turned everything into a whooshing light-saber when he was a kid. LOL, Cumby is such a geek. I love it.
Oh, and Cumby was on The Late Show last night. I haven’t watched the whole thing yet, but here’s the video:
NERDS, GET IN HERE, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT STAR WARS IN HERE. Mark Hamill AKA Luke Skywalker of the Star Wars trilogy, is in talks about possibly returning to the franchise. “Who cares about Mark Hamill?” you ask. I CARE. A LOT OF US CARE. THERE ARE 4 – 8 PEOPLE READING THIS WHO CARE ABOUT MARK HAMILL.
Via Hollywood Reporter:
They’re talking to us. George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we’d be interested. He did say that if we didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t cast another actor in our parts; they would write us out. I can tell you right away that we haven’t signed any contracts. We’re in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed — on their end, not mine. They’re more busy than I am.
Omg, Mark Hamill, you adorable national treasure. “They’re more busy than I am.” That is some beautiful honesty right there.
In January it was announced that J.J. Abrams is directing the first sequel, Episode VII. Then, there was discussion that Harrison Ford is reprising his role as Han Solo, but reports conflict as to whether or not it’s official just yet. Rolling Stone says it is, but check out their source.
From Rolling Stone:
Harrison Ford will return as the original space cowboy, Han Solo, in the new installments of the Star Wars franchise, according to Fox News Latino columnist Umberto “El Mayimbe” Gonzalez. The reporter said he “triple checked” his “legitimate sources”…
Oh cool, well we all know how legit that Umberto “El Mayimbe” Gonzalez is.
Hamill goes onto speculate,
I’m assuming, because I haven’t talked to the writers, that these movies would be about our offspring — like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range [as] an influential character. … When I found out [while making the original trilogy] that ultimate good news/bad news joke – the good news is there’s a real attractive, hot girl in the universe; the bad news is she’s your sister – I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to wind up like Sir Alec. I’m going to be a lonely old hermit living out in some kind of desert igloo with a couple of robots.’
