Irish actor Jack Reynor has spoken about his excitement at being shortlisted to take on the role of Han Solo in an upcoming Star Wars spin-off movie, saying it would be "an incredible gig to get."
The 24-year-old star was revealed as one of the names on the shortlist to play the iconic character made famous by Harrison Ford in the Star Wars series, in a film that would focus on his early life.
"Look, man, that would be kind of an incredible gig to get, wouldn't it? Totally insane," the Dubliner told MTV News.
On the chance of taking on a character so linked to Ford, Reynor added that it would come with its pressures, "You've got to fill some pretty seriously big boots there, man. We're talking Harrison Ford here, dude.
"He's not a chump, you know what I mean? You can't do imitation; you can't try and just emulate what that is. It's got to be something new, and it's also got to be something that the audience is going to respond to."
The project is being helmed by The Lego Movie's Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and Reynor added that they are the "perfect" guys to take on the challenge.
Hollywood insider publication Variety revealed the shortlist of stars being considered by Disney and Lucasfilm to take on the role earlier this month.
After seeing thousands of actors, studio executives are now working from a much shorter list and it is full of established stars and exciting up-and-comers. It is expected that they will make their final decision soon.
Aside from Transformers' Reynor, The Fault In Our Stars' Ansel Elgort is also in contention, as is Brooklyn's Emory Cohen, Whiplash star Miles Teller and Scott Eastwood (yes, Clint's son).
Bad Neighbours and 21 Jump Street's Dave Franco, Fury's Logan Lerman and Everybody Wants Some's star Blake Jenner also hold places on the list.
The film will begin shooting in January 2017 but it is rumoured that the chosen actor will have a small cameo in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first film in the Star Wars: Anthology series, which will see a number of standalone stories being told within the Star Wars universe. Rogue One, which will be set between the events of Episode III andEpisode IV, is currently shooting, with a couple of weeks of filming still to go.
