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Han Solo Star Wars Movie Audition Draws More Than 2500 Actors

"Great kid! Don't get cocky!"

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It was never going to be easy to find an actor to play a younger version of a character as iconic as Han Solo. But with production on the Star Wars spinoff that focuses upon the early adventures of the space smuggler starting in just over a year, the casting process is well underway.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, producers at Disney and Lucasfilm have to date seen the auditions of more than 2,500 actors, both in person and on tape. The process has included several big names, including Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Miles Teller (Whiplash, Fantastic Four), and Dave Franco (Neighbors, 22 Jump Street).

Other potential Solos include The Walking Dead's Chandler Riggs, Jurassic World's Nick Robinson, and Rami Malek from the acclaimed TV cyber-thriller Mr Robot. THR quotes an agent as stating: "This has been the easiest movie to audition for. They are seeing everyone."

As the site notes, this open audition process is very different from the one adopted by JJ Abrams for The Force Awakens. In that case, the director was very clear in his intention to find relatively unknown actors for the two young leads.

The Han Solo movie is being directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have had success with The Lego Movie and the Jump Street movies. It is written by Star Wars veteran Lawrence Kasdan, with his son Jon. Last moth, Kasdan confirmed that it would be his final movie in the franchise. "I did four Star Wars movies. That's more than enough," he told German newspaper Bild.

The Han Solo movie is scheduled for a May 2018 release. The first Star Wars standalone film, Gareth Edward's Rogue One, opens on December 16, 2016.

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