Even if you’re not a One Direction fan, chances are you’ll have heard of Harry Styles. Like the other members of the super popular band, his name is everywhere, but the singer is now attempting to make the leap from music to acting by making his big screen debut in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming World War II drama, Dunkirk.
That’s a pretty high-profile gig and one which could put him on the map assuming he does well there. Styles has obviously done something right to impress a filmmaker like Nolan, and while we don’t know what exactly that might have been, it’s now been revealed that he came close to taking on a very different sort of big screen role as Han Solo in the hero’s upcoming Star Wars spinoff.
Alden Ehrenreich beat the likes of Taron Edgerton, Jack O’Connell and Jack Reynor to wind up as Disney and Lucasfilm’s younger version of the iconic character, but no mention of Styles was made at the time when the Hail, Caesar! star was cast. This new report from Metro claims that Styles was “high up on film execs’ lists” for the role though and that they believed his fame would bring the project a lot of publicity. That latter point goes without saying, but Disney likely made the right choice by casting a more experienced actor to follow in the footsteps of Harrison Ford. At least, in our opinion.
While he may not have landed the title role in Han Solo, it’s said that Styles is still being eyed for various projects by Disney, so who knows where else he could pop up next. The studio has a lot of live-action adaptations of their classic animated films in the works, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe may need a new addition as well. Either way, the future certainly looks bright for the former One Direction member and we look forward to seeing him make his acting debut in Dunkirk later this year.
