With Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo Anthology movie eyeing an early 2017 production start, TheWrap brings word today that Disney and Lucasfilm have begun their search for a young Lando Calrissian, the wise-cracking smuggler originally portrayed by Billy Dee Williams across the original Star Wars trilogy.
At the time of going to press, the outlet didn’t disclose which actors were in contention for the coveted part of the Cloud City denizen, though we imagine more information will come to light as casting begins to heat up.
What we do know is that whoever dons that glorious moustache and cape as a young Lando will star opposite newcomer Alden Ehrenreich, who closed a deal to headline Lord and Miller’s hotly-anticipated spinoff as the endearing scoundrel earlier in the year.
Still simmering in the bowels of pre-production, early signs for Disney’s Han Solo origin story are certainly promising, with Star Wars veteran Iain McCaig – the artist who helped craft The Force Awakens – claiming the script Lord and Miller have mapped out with Lawrence Kasdan is “by far the best Star Wars script” to date. Praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
“[The Han Solo movie] has by far the best Star Wars script, and one of the best scripts period, that I have ever read,” he recently revealed after being asked about how the movie is shaping up. “I laughed, I cried, I did all the things you should do when reading a good script. You’re in for a treat.”
The as-yet-untitled Han Solo Anthology film is booked in for release on May 25, 2018.
