Disney locks down newest Han Solo actor for possible trilogy

Sam Machkovech

Alden Ehrenreich, who will play Han Solo in at least one upcoming film, appears at the Star Wars Celebration 2016 in London, England.

Getty Images / Ben A. Pruchnie

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The nebulous cloud of upcoming Star Wars content is hard to keep up with. There's the official trilogy, this winter's Rogue One spin-off film, and a ton of still-in-production, big-budget video games starting off the list. This cache also includes a new film featuring a much younger Han Solo than the one fans met in the original Star Wars.

Actually, scratch that. We might be getting an entire Han Solo trilogy as well.

That's the buzz, at any rate, suggested by a New York Daily News story that broke on Monday. Actor Alden Ehrenreich, the 26-year-old who's been tapped to lead the still-unnamed Han Solo film, has signed a three-film contract with Disney. The point of the contract, according to the Daily News, is to lock the actor down should the first Han Solo film "strike gold at the box office."

Really, is there any doubt that the first one will do well? It's in solid-sounding hands for now as series screenwriting legend Lawrence Kasdan has finished the script with the writing help of his son, John. Directorial duties are being handled by the nerd-directing super-duo of Chris Miller and Peter Lord (The LEGO Movie, Clone High). Principal filming for the 2018 film is set to begin this coming January. As Kasdan told the LA Times in December, the first Han Solo film will portray the famed outlaw in his "early 20s," and it sounds like classic origin-story stuff. "What was [Han] like before he hardened up?" Kasdan told the paper. "Before he had some setbacks? Before he put on this cynical coat? What got him there?"

That being said, this is Disney, which means Ehrenreich could also be signing a contract that paves the way for a Marvel-like smorgasbord of interlocking, universe-driven films. Who knows—maybe there will even be a few holiday specials.