Woody Harrelson Will Be Han Solo Movie’s ‘Criminal Mentor’ In ‘Star Wars’ Anthology Movie

Woody Harrelson is about to be one of the characters you didn’t expect. He is slated to play Han Solo’s mentor in the character’s solo movie.

Han Solo is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars series, and he almost rivaled Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as the most influential character in the original trilogy. His past was only hinted at in the first movie, and slightly more was revealed when he met Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) in The Empire Strikes Back. He was given more story elements than Boba Fett, whose name wasn’t even mentioned until Return of the Jedi, and who is also slated to get his own anthology film.

When we first met Han (Harrison Ford), he was a somewhat questionable character hanging around the Mos Eisley Cantina on Luke’s home planet of Tattooine. He was instantly redeemed when Obi-Wan Kenobi vouched for him as a pilot who could get Luke where he wanted to go. He was also revealed to be a rather crafty mechanic when the Millennium Falcon had developed issues in the second film.

Also in the second film, we learned that Han and Lando were old friends, and the Millennium Falcon was kind of a space-bound hot rod put together using parts from other ships.

There is a lot of backstory to be brought to the big screen surrounding everybody’s favorite scruffy looking nerf-herder, and many have felt that the prequels missed the opportunity to give him at least a cameo. Now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, it seems Kathleen Kennedy and the people at Lucasfilm are looking to correct this by giving Han Solo his origin movie in 2018.

While a title has yet to be announced, much like episode 8, casting has already begun. Alden Ehrenreich is set to play the role of a young Han Solo, Donald Glover will be Lando Calrissian, and Emilia Clarke is playing a yet unrevealed role. She might be a love interest for young Han or Lando, and there has been nothing revealed about the story.

However, Woody Harrelson has been announced as being part of the cast, and Coming Soon says that the actor told the press he would be like a father figure to young Han.

“I’m a mentor to Han, but I’m also a bit of a criminal. I don’t think I’ll have a lot of make-up or anything. We’ll see how that look develops. I’m meeting with those guys tomorrow, the hair and make-up and stunts and everything. We’ll just have a little discussion about that.”

With a long history of playing criminal types and anti-heroes, Harrelson could be a natural choice for this role. He was a homicidal psychopath in Natural Born Killers, a pornography mogul in The People Vs Larry Flynt, and a zombie-slaying reluctant partner with Jesse Eisenberg in Zombieland, as well as landing notable roles in White Men Can’t Jump, Kingpin, and Anger Management.

The character Woody Harrelson plays might even be related to Emilia Clarke’s character. We don’t know yet.

The yet-untitled Han Solo anthology film will reportedly be a much grittier story, possibly following a similar visual tone to Rogue One. Woody’s character could be planning a kind of heist to steal unattended starships for scrap, training Han with the skills he would need to eventually rebuild and pilot the Millennium Falcon.

We might even get a scene where Harrelson is teaching Han how to fire a blaster, and when the boy hits a moving target, we might hear Woody say, “Great, kid! Don’t get cocky!” It would be a nice homage to the original trilogy.

What do you think about Woody Harrelson playing a young Han Solo’s mentor?

[Featured Image by Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images]