Harry Styles was 'in contention' to play Han Solo in Star Wars spin-off

One Direction star considered for iconic part made famous by Harrison Ford in forthcoming movie before it was eventually given to Alden Ehrenreich

Katie Archer
Tuesday 11 April 2017 15:05 BST
Comments
(Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Harry Styles was apparently in line to send his career into another galaxy as one of the top choices to play Han Solo in a Star Wars spin-off.

The One Direction star, who has just launched his solo career with new single "Sign Of The Times", was reportedly high on the list of names to cast as a younger version of the character made famous by Harrison Ford in one of the many off-shoot projects from the main film franchise.

According to The Sun, an insider at Star Wars film studios Disney said: “Harry was one of the early names in contention when the studio looked at Han Solo.

“Even though he had virtually no acting experience, they saw he had huge star potential and would give the solo project enormous publicity.

“On initial inquiries Harry had his music career laid out and it would have been almost impossible to lock him down for the job.”

Alden Ehrenreich, who has starred in Blue Jasmine and Hail, Caesar! was cast in the role for the currently-untitled Han Solo movie, which is filming now and is due out in 2018.

Styles can be seen on screen in July in Christopher Nolan's Second World War action thriller Dunkirk, marking his acting debut.

Press Association

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in