Young Han Solo Shortlist Features These Three Amazing Up-and-Coming Actors

First let's talk about how awesome it is to finally be able to go full geek and talk about Star Wars all the time. There was a time, long ago in a galaxy not so far away, where it wasn't all that cool. But those dark days are over, thanks to the latest Star Wars trilogy, director J.J. Abrams, and the new, still-to-be-titled spinoff about a young Han Solo. We might not know the title of the new movie yet, but the latest short list of young Han Solo prospects, which was revealed this week by The Hollywood Reporter, has pretty much everyone excited, especially given each actor's incredible talent.

As all Star Wars fans know, Han Solo was an iconic character made famous by dreamy Harrison Ford. A relative unknown actor at the time, Ford became... well, Harrison Ford, mega-star of the mega-stars. Since that time, the Star Wars franchise has become known for making unknown actors big names in Hollywood. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Hayden Christiansen, Ewan McGregor, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac have essentially become household names. I have a feeling things will go well for one of these three actors who will take over the iconic Solo role. (The untitled film, set to be released in 2018, will be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.)

So what of the actors? What could they bring to the role of Han Solo that would be new and fresh and still manage to satisfy the nostalgic side of fans? Let's take a look at this shortlist, as reported by THW.

Alden Ehrenreich

I don't think it would be fair to call Ehrenreich an 'unknown', although he has managed to fly under the radar. He was most recently in Hail, Caeser!, directed by the Coen brothers. He also starred in Beautiful Creatures, Blue Jasmine (directed by Woody Allen) and Stoker (co-starring Nicole Kidman) — but if he manages to score the coveted Han Solo role, perhaps he, too, would become a household name.

Ehrenreich is known for his sense of humor and spot on impressions, which could be good news for fans of classic Solo. He was apparently discovered by Steven Speilberg at a bat mitzvah, according to IMDb. But what does the Twittersphere think? It seems Star Wars fans everywhere are pretty keen on the idea:

Jack Reynor

Yes, he's the guy from Transformers: Age of Extinction. Recently he won over fans at the Sundance Festival for his performance in the critically acclaimed Sing Street, an Irish film about a boy who forms a band in the 8os. He is Irish, and has loads of swagger which we all know is important for the role of Solo. Plus when he frowns he looks very handsome, which moves him up in my books. He seems to be the dark horse to win the role as well, which of course has me rooting for him even more. Also Han Solo plus Irish accent equals awesome.

Taron Egerton

Egerton, a Brit, is best known for his role in Kingsman: The Secret Service and most recently he co-starred with Hugh Jackman in Eddie the Eagle. I'm of two minds about this Egerton fellow. He's good at the saucy wink, which makes me think he's a bit cheeky in a cute, fun way. But he also seems (dare I say it) a bit goofy? Still — what do the fans think?

I guess a girl's gotta be wrong every now and then, eh? From the looks of these three up-and-comers, the legacy of Han Solo will be in good hands. Now who to play a young Chewie, guys?