Being cast as younger versions of nerd icons must be nerve-wracking. I know I couldn't do it (then again, I look like Comic-Book Guy from THE SIMPSONS, so they wouldn't cast me anyway). But that's the task being laid in front of Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover, playing a young Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, respectively.
In an interview in the aptly-titled Interview Magazine, Ehrenreich talked a bit about his casting:
I had an audition process that went on for a long time, and I got to spend a lot of time with the guys who are directing the film…I did my audition on the Millennium Falcon for one of my screen tests, which was pretty cool…then came back and did a couple more screen tests in Los Angeles.
He also said he hasn't yet spoken to Harrison Ford – the original Han Solo (for the one of you who didn't know) – but that Ehrenreich is a huge fan:
I remember pretending to be the characters in the movies when I was a little kid…and now I play Han Solo. So the little kid in me is having a real joyride.
Meanwhile, on Ellen, Donald Glover talked a bit about his reaction to being cast, such as how his first toy was a Lando Calrissian his dad gave him, and that his mom kept telling him "‘Don’t mess it up! Don’t mess this up!’" upon hearing the news "‘cause Billy Dee — like, that’s hers." He also acknowledged that now that he's officially Lando Calrissian:
"It’s really crazy…I’m very honored. It’s a very big deal."
Now, while I'm still a bit lukewarm on the idea of a young Han Solo spin-off, at least we can tell from these interviews that the directors took great pains to find the right people for the roles, and that the actors care deeply about the project as well. So, even if it doesn't live up to expectations, at least love was put behind it (even if its genesis is part of a cold, cynical corporate system).
Anyway, YOUNG HAN SOLO SPIN-OFF will blast off into theaters May 25th, 2018.
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