Star Wars: Alden Ehrenreich talks Young Han Solo casting

There have been plenty of big teases for the Han Solo spin-off movie, but nothing has been quite as interesting as who would be taking up the role. Out of a narrow group of potential actors, which included Targon Egerton and Jack Reynor, Alden Ehrenreich emerged as the number one contender.

Ehrenreich made his first appearance after being cast as Han Solo during the third and final day of Star Wars Celebration Europe. During the event, Ehrenreich (as well as a few other Star Wars actors) spoke on the film and getting the role.

According to Ehrenreich, he screen-tested with Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon set during six months of callbacks. "When it first came along I knew everybody would be going out for it,” said Ehrenreich. “I read the sides and loved them and thought, ‘Who knows, but let me give it a shot.'” Well, it turns out that giving it a "shot" was the right thing to do, he got the role after all.

Chris Lord, one of the directors of the spin-off offered a bit of insight on Ehrenreich's young Han Solo character. "I relate to Han Solo," he said. "He doesn’t want to do anything he's told, when you tell him not to do something he wants to do it more. He's very sarcastic and at the end of the day he's reasonably optimistic.

"That's why we got so excited about making this movie: the dichotomy between this grouchy guy with the biggest heart in the galaxy."

The Han Solo movie is set to release on May 25, 2018.

[Deadline]