As we reported a couple of months ago, casting has been taking place for the upcoming Young Han Solo movie for some months now.

Alden Ehrenreich faced off competition for just about every actor under 35, including our own Jack Reynor, for the title role whilst Lando Calrissian was more of a closer race. Donald Glover, best known for playing Troy Barnes in Community and his music career as Childish Gambino, was the frontrunner to take on the role.

Last night, Lucasfilm officially confirmed that Glover had accepted the role and will now play young Lando Calrissian in Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Young Han Solo film.

 

For those who don't know or remember who Calrissian is, here's a little brief. He was played originally by Billy Dee Williams in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and was an old friend of Solo and Chewbacca. The Millennium Falcon originally belonged to Calrissian and, while on the run from Darth Vader and the Empire, Solo and Princess Leia brought the ship to him for repairs.

What they didn't realise was that the Empire arrived at Cloud City before Solo and Princess Leia. Cloud City was Calrissian's floating metropolis where he served as the head honch (Baron Administrator was his title, but basically the guy running the place).

The character's described by Solo in Empire Strikes Back as "a scoundrel" and totally tries to work his magic on Princess Leia the first time he meets her because come on, Calrissian's an old smoothie.

So, is Glover the right choice? Yes, to be honest, he is. Other names in contention for the role were Captain America's Anthony Mackie and Straight Outta Compton's Aldris Hodge, but it looks Glover had the job in the bag from the get-go. After all, out of the three of them, he's the one that's probably the most recognisable.

His musical career has skyrocketed, Community was a cult hit and now his HBO show Atlanta is winning all sorts of critical acclaim, so jumping into the most well-known film franchise seems like the logical next step.

The as-yet untitled Han Solo film hits Irish cinemas on May 25th, 2018.