There must be something about Woody Harrelson that screams “mentor” to casting directors. Word has it that Harrelson is in early talks to join Disney’s upcoming ‘Han Solo’ prequel movie and that he will serve as, what else, a mentor to the titular hero, who will be played by Alden Ehrenreich. Also part of the cast are Donald Glover who is playing a young Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke in an undisclosed role.
Of course, Harrelson’s most high profile role in recent years was that of Haymitch Abernathy, another mentor, in the ‘Hunger Games’ series, opposite Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. More recently, he appeared in the acclaimed comedy ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ and this summer’s flop ‘Now You See Me 2’. He will be seen in the upcoming ‘The Glass Castle’ and ‘War For the Planet of the Apes’.
Reportedly, Disney has been looking for a big name for Harrelson’s potential ‘Star Wars’ role and at one point, Christian Slater was said to be under consideration.
The first ‘Star Wars’ anthology film, ‘Rogue One’ is now playing in theaters and has already generated $789 M globally, proving that fans love all things ‘Star Wars’ even films that don’t connect to the main Saga.
The untitled ‘Han Solo’ movie already has a release date locked in, May 25, 2018. (Although, it’s possible Disney may bump it, since their Christmas track record seems to be working for them.) It is being directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, based on a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan (‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘Return of the Jedi’) and Jon Kasdan.
Considering Han Solo’s scoundrel reputation, Harrelson may be the perfect fit to serve as his mentor. His character Haymitch in ‘The Hunger Games’ movies was something of a scoundrel himself, with his hard drinking ways, but was still a skilled warrior and strategist… when he was sober. In fact, many of Harrelson’s roles tend to be swaggering nonconformists, from ‘Zombieland’ to ‘Now You See Me’. This could be perfect casting.
What do you think? Would you like to see Harrelson in a ‘Star Wars’ movie?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
