Let’s face facts. The odds of Alden Ehrenreich returning to the role of Han Solo probably aren’t great. Solo: A Star Wars Story was successful, but not to the level of its Star Wars predecessors. And while appreciation for the movie has grown in the years since its release, you just get the sense that Lucasfilm is done with it, even with a potential Lando show floating in the air.
However, Ehrenreich has always said he could come back if asked—and in a new interview, he gave a really good answer as to why. Speaking to Uproxx about his new movie Cocaine Bear (produced by Solo’s original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller), Ehrenreich said that, because the film was treated largely as an origin story, he didn’t feel he really got to be the iconic “Han Solo” for that long and he would love more of that.
“If it was the right iteration and the right thing, I would love [to come back],” the actor said. “Because, for me, in the first movie you watch him become Han. I got to be Han Solo for the last 15 minutes of the movie, maybe. And so being Han Solo is the fun part. And I have no fucking idea if there is ever a world where any of that happens, and if it happens, great, if it doesn’t, whatever. But it was really great to … that’s what’s appealing to me about it, because in a way they built this sort of origin story for when he becomes who he is, but then that guy is the guy that’s really fun and it’s a ball to play that character specifically.”
“I think the original vibe of all that stuff was almost more like an Indiana Jones idea where you would get to watch this guy be that guy over the course of a few movies,” Ehrenreich continued. “Anyway, so that’s appealing about it to me is that character and getting to do that.”
As he says, though, “I have no fucking idea if there is ever a world where any of that happens,” and if the lead actor in question doesn’t know, odds are it’s not happening. But never say never. Star Wars in the past few years has certainly shown it has no problem bringing popular legacy characters into other projects (Darth Vader in Rogue One, Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian/Book of Boba Fett, Princess Leia in Obi-Wan Kenobi), so maybe the Lando show happens and we get Han. Or maybe a few years down the road, Solo 2 happens. But either way, it’s very nice to think about Ehrenreich wanting to play that character again. I just hope this isn’t all my fault.
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