Dave Franco Talks Young Han Solo Audition Process

A few months back it was reported that Disney was looking at over 200 actors for the role of young Han Solo in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Star Wars spinoff, narrowing the list down to 12 names, including Miles Teller and Neighbors star Dave Franco. That shortlist has become even shorter, with Hail, Caesar! star Alden Ehrenreich reportedly emerging as the frontrunner, while guys like Franco and Teller are now off the table. A new interview with Franco basically confirms this, as the actor opens up about the audition process and the difficulties of finding the right person to step into Harrison Ford’s iconic shoes.

While speaking with MTV, Franco says that he’s had a lot of people ask him about the Han Solo project, though he knows as much as anyone else — which is to say that he knows pretty much nothing. With Ehrenreich rumored as the top pick for the part following impressive screen tests, Franco is free to shed some light on the audition process:

It’s like most other auditions. I went in one time for [casting director] Jeanne McCarthy, who I’ve auditioned for a million times before, and we just had a really fun time together in the room.

Casting an actor to play a younger version of a role as iconic as Harrison Ford’s Han Solo is tricky, and Franco says that’s definitely what Lord and Miller and Lucasfilm are struggling with:

No, I’m not good at impressions or anything like that. I think that’s the reason it’s so hard to cast this role, too! It’s like, do they want someone to like, perfectly embody who Harrison Ford is, or do they want to go a completely different route? Do they want someone to look really similar to him? I don’t know. I think they’re struggling with that

The key is finding someone who captures the spirit and swagger of Han Solo — not someone who can just do a great impression of him.

Although Ehrenreich is reportedly the studio’s top pick for the part, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll end up in the film. You may recall that Asa Butterfield was the frontrunner to play Marvel and Sony’s new Spider-Man before they ultimately went with Tom Holland. A lot can change in a short period of time. The untitled Han Solo movie begins filming in January 2017 for a May 2018 release, so there’s still plenty of time before we’ll know anything for certain.