Consider it a rumor no more – Woody Harrelson, star of True Detective and soon War For the Planet of the Apes, has climbed aboard Disney’s Han Solo spinoff.
Word comes by way of StarWars.com, where co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller released a statement welcoming Harrelson to the fray. No further character details were disclosed at this time, but when Harrelson first became attached to the Star Wars spinoff last week, sources claimed that the acting veteran would assume the role of a mentor figure to Alden Ehrenreich’s smug nerf herder.
One way or another, Woody Harrelson now joins a cast that already boasts Donald Glover as the young Lando Calrissian, along with Game of Thrones stalwart Emilia Clarke in a mystery role. Angled as the second Star Wars anthology film following Rogue One – anthology films designed to exist outside the core Skywalker saga – the official press release reveals that Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo prequel takes place “during the early scoundrel days of the iconic characters, prior to A New Hope.” Looks like those rumors suggesting Captain Cassian Andor will pop up for a cameo may not be so crazy after all.
Here’s the official word from Lord and Miller on the addition of Harrelson.
“We couldn’t be more excited to work with an artist with as much depth and range as Woody,” said the film’s directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. “His ability to find both humor and pathos, often in the same role, is truly unique. He is also very good at ping pong.”
Disney’s as-yet-untitled Han Solo spinoff is currently scheduled for release in 2018, indicating that the Mouse House may well push its second Star Wars spinoff back to December after all.