Cast Catch Up: ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

Disney dropped a premiere Solo: A Star Wars Story TV spot during Super Bowl 52 before debuting its full trailer Monday on ABC’s Good Morning America, offering fans their first look at the cast and characters of the highly anticipated Star Wars standalone centered around a young Han Solo.

Solo‘s fresh-faced cast of actors and characters alike posits the newest Star Wars standalone as an exciting prospect: for every familiar and easily recognizable piece of Star Wars iconography, from Han Solo and Chewbacca to Stormtroopers and the Millennium Falcon, there’s as much newness brought to the table.

From the fresh-on-the-scene Alden Ehrenreich to the blowing-up Donald Glover, here’s everything you need to know about the cast of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich)

28-year-old actor Alden Ehrenreich has just 19 credits to his name, and now has the impossible task of filling the boots of Harrison Ford, who famously portrayed roguish smuggler Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and its well-embraced sequel, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 

Ehrenreich got his start with bit roles in one-off appearances in television’s Supernatural and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, making his feature debut in Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro in 2009.

Ehrenreich took part in another Coppola production, Twixt, where he appeared alongside one-time Batman Val Kilmer before headlining fantasy drama Beautiful Creatures in 2013. 

That same year, Ehrenreich played Danny in Blue Jasmine, the movie that won future Thor: Ragnarok star Cate Blanchett the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. 

The up-and-comer is likely best known for his role as struggling movie star Hobie Doyle in the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!, where he starred alongside George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Tilda Swinton. 

 

Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover)

It’s hard not to recognize shining star Donald Glover, who joins the Star Wars galaxy as a younger — but undoubtedly just as smooth — Lando Calrissian, who was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. 

The musician-slash-actor is as well known for his role as Troy Barnes in cult hit NBC comedy Community as he is for his music, where he raps and sings under the handle Childish Gambino. 

A Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy winner, Glover’s Hollywood stock continues to rise: he lent his voice to the fan-favorite Miles Morales Spider-Man in Disney’s animated Ultimate Spider-Man and starred as small-time crook Aaron Davis in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

Glover stars in FX comedy drama Atlanta, which he created, and will next lend his silky voice to future king Simba in Disney’s re-imagining of The Lion King, under Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau. 

Qi’Ra (Emilia Clarke)

British actress Emilia Clarke has a light resume, but she’s already made her mark on pop culture: she’s best known for her iconic role as Daenerys Targaryen in HBO epic Game of Thrones, a role she’s filled since 2011.

In addition to lending her voice to single episodes of fan-favorites Futurama and Robot Chicken, Clarke headlined romance drama hit Me Before You, which saw the actress play a small-town girl who fell for a newly paralyzed man (The Hunger Games‘ Sam Claflin). 

Like Ehrenreich, Clarke knows a thing or two about stepping into the younger version of an established character: she played a younger Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys, the Terminator sequel from Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor. 

Clarke joins the Star Wars universe as Qi’Ra, Solo‘s mysterious female lead. 

Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo)

Former 6’10” basketball player Joonas Suotamo returns as Han Solo’s fuzzy best friend Chewbacca, a role he first assumed in The Force Awakens. Suotamo, who operated as Peter Mayhew’s Chewie double, also lent his voice to the waling carpet in the LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens video game. 

The newcomer actor took over Chewbacca full time in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and again as a (slightly) younger iteration of the beloved Wookiee in Solo.

Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson)

Three-time Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award winner Woody Harrelson is best remembered for his role of dimwitted Woody Boyd in beloved sitcom Cheers.

Harrelson took career-defining turns as psychopathic killer Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers and star bowler Roy Munson in sport comedy Kingpin, and would feature as a standout in Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men. 

In the years since, Harrelson has become a face recognized for his steady blockbuster appearances: he played Haymitch Abernathy in all four installments of The Hunger Games franchise and the tricky Merritt McKinney (and twin brother Chase) in Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2.

Harrelson recently portrayed the villainous Colonel in War for the Planet of the Apes and will reunite with Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer for Spider-Man spinoff Venom. Harrelson’s role is unknown, but he’s suspected of playing Venom’s arch foe, the crazed serial killer known as Carnage. 

The actor plays the dubious Tobias Beckett in Solo, who Harrelson has described as a criminal that has an influence on the young space pirate.  

???? (Thandie Newton)

Golden Globe nominee Thandie Newton is no stranger to big movies: she appeared in Mission: Impossible II alongside Tom Cruise and The Chronicles of Riddick alongside future Guardians of the Galaxy star Vin Diesel.

Newton, who appeared in Best Picture winner Crash and dramas The Pursuit of Happyness, W., and For Colored Girls, more recently stars as brothel madam Maeve Millay in HBO hit Westworld. 

It’s unknown who Newton plays in Solo, but a behind-the-scenes photo shared by director Ron Howard gives a hint towards her character’s alliance. 

 

???? (Paul Bettany)

Another unknown player is Paul Bettany, who has only described his Solo character as a “very cool intergalactic gangster.” 

Bettany has just as many well-known dramas to his name —A Knight’s Tale, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and The Secret Life of Bees among them — as he does action flicks. 

The actor is best known today for his role as synthetic superhero Vision (and, previously, the voice of Tony Stark assistant J.A.R.V.I.S.) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a role he’ll reprise in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4. 

In Solo, Bettany reunites with director Ron Howard, who steered the actor in A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code. 

???? (Warwick Davis)

Howard confirmed series veteran Warwick Davis will appear in Solo, but the actor’s role remains unknown. 

Davis got his start as pint-sized space creature Wicket, arguably the most famous of all the Ewoks, in 1983’s Return of the Jedi.

Davis reprised his role in TV movies The Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, and appeared in seminal fantasies Labyrinth and Willow (directed by Howard).

Davis made a handful of cameos in The Phantom Menace before being immortalized again in the Harry Potter franchise, where he played Professor Flitwick.

He made another appearance in The Force Awakens as Wollivan — a mole rat-looking pirate spotted in Maz Kanata’s castle — and returned to a galaxy far, far away again as Weeteef Cyubee in Rogue One before lending his voice to Rukh in Star Wars: Rebels.

Solo: A Star Wars Story opens May 25.