Star Wars Han Solo Spin-Off Short-Lists Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Dave Franco, and More

The Star Wars franchise is edging closer to finding the right actor to fill out a young Han Solo’s daringly tight pants in the upcoming spin-off from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Starting from a pool of over 2,500 actors, Lucasfilm has finally narrowed the pool to a dozen contenders including some very familiar faces.

Gone are some of the odd outliers from the long list like Mr. Robot’sRami Malek, and Variety reports that a quarter of recognizable young actors—Miles Teller (Whiplash), Dave Franco (Neighbors),Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), and Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars)—are leading the short list. These three already appeared to be the front-runners when the long list was announced last month, and, unless Lucasfilm decides it wants to go with an unknown, will remain the most likely candidates. None of them have quite the right wise-cracking smolder of a 33-year-oldHarrison Ford but, then again, it’s hard to imagine anyone even coming close.

Perhaps it would be better, then, to go with someone a little less well known. The fewer expectations the better for our new young Han. And given the enormous popularity of The Force Awakens,newcomers like Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, Lucasfilm shouldn’t be afraid to go too obscure. With that in mind, there are some under-the-radar choices on the list already, like Jack Reynor(who was great in Macbeth), Emory Cohen (equally great inBrooklyn), and Glee alum Blake Jenner. Audiences will soon get a better sense of Jenner’s non-singing talents when he takes the lead inRichard Linklater’s highly anticipated Everybody Wants Some.

Somewhere in the middle of the pack is Clint Eastwood’s son,Scott Eastwood (The Longest Ride), who, at 29, is the oldest actor on the short list and creeping up on the age Ford was when he made A New Hope.

Testing is still going on and the Han Solo spin-off won’t begin shooting until next January, but Variety reports that Lucasfilm plans to nail down their new young star in the next few weeks. Though there’s no official confirmation yet, there’s an enticing rumor that “the new Solo could have a small cameo in Rogue One: A Star Warsbefore appearing in his own stand-alone pic.” Rogue One is meant to take place just before A New Hope, so that could mean that this is less of a young Han Solo film and more of an early-30s Han Solo film. Hey, things are looking up for Eastwood!