Will Alden Ehrenreich star in Han Solo trilogy?

Actor Ehrenreich could appear in more than one film about the famous 'Star Wars' rogue. Ehrenreich is officially on board for at least one 'Star Wars' film.

Like the previous stories set in a galaxy far, far away, a new tale about the early days of smuggler Han Solo may be told in three parts. 

Disney, the studio currently behind the popular “Star Wars” films, has reportedly signed actor Alden Ehrenreich, who is officially on board to portray Han, for three movies total.

Mr. Ehrenreich has previously starred in films such as this year’s Coen brothers movie “Hail, Caesar!” 

The New York Daily News reports that Ehrenreich is now signed up for three films. However, as A.V. Club writer Sam Barsanti points out, “Actors get signed to three-picture deals like that all the time, so it is absolutely not proof that Disney is making a Han Solo trilogy.” And, writes Mr. Barsanti, “The idea of Disney waiting to see what the response to the Han Solo movie is like before greenlighting sequels seems silly after it put six new ‘Star Wars’ movies into development before the first one had even come out.” 

So we’ll see if a certain scruffy-looking nerf herder will be the subject of multiple more films. At least one is definitely being made, with Christopher Miller and Phil Lord of “The Lego Movie” set to direct and Lawrence Kasdan of “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” and Jon Kasdan writing the script. The film is set to be released in 2018.

One reason more Han Solo films seem plausible if the first is a success is, of course, the financial aspect. If audience members show there is a demand for new stories about the smuggler, Disney would most likely want to take advantage of that. 

In addition, “Star Wars” is a franchise built on trilogies – there were three original 1970s and ‘80s movies, and there were three movies in the “prequel” series as well. We also know that the current “main” “Star Wars” series, which began with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” will consist of three movies as well. Perhaps as the “Star Wars” series moves in new directions, with (presumably) standalone movies like this year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and another prequel trilogy, those behind the camera are trying to keep some things familiar for fans by sticking with the trilogy model.