Never tell Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) the odds, because the actor has just been named the new Han Solo for the upcoming Untitled Han Solo Star Wars Anthology Film from directors by Chris Miller and Phil Lord. Ehrenreich had beat out 2,500 actors, with names like Dave Franco and Miles Teller, being just a few of the top names that were in the running.

More on the story below.

The Hollywood Reporter was the first to confirm that Ehrenreich had won the role of the smuggler who pilots the Millenium Falcon, a ship that can make the kessel run in 12 parsecs. Casting the role was always going to be tricky since everyone identifies Harrison Ford as Han Solo. The actor has been playing the character since Star Wars: A New Hope, and recently reprised his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Given the legacy of the character in the Star Wars universe, there was a huge amount of pressure for Disney and LucasFilm to find the right person.

Just after they released Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there were reports that Disney and Lucasfilm cast a pretty wide net to find that actor, auditioning up to 2,500 actors of all ages and ethnicities. In the coming months, that number would be narrowed to a sparse five. Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie The Eagle), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Blake Jenner (Glee), and Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), were among the other top frontrunners vying for the role.

Now, for those who may not be familiar with who Ehrenreich is, the young actor was first discovered by Steven Spielberg, who saw the boy in a bar mitzvah video. He left such an impression on the filmmaker, that it opened doors to a couple of opportunities. After a couple of television appearances, he made his feature debut with Francis Ford Coppola’s 2009 film, Tetro. He was most recently been seen in Hail, Caesar!. He also had roles in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, Park Chan-wook’s Stoker, and starred in Richard LaGravenese’s Beautiful Creatures. I have posted a video below of his hilarious performance in Hail, Caesar! opposite Ralph Fiennes, where the Hobie Doyle (Ehrenreich) tries to recite a line of dialogue correctly only to constantly disappoint his director (Fiennes). It’s a hilarious exchange between the two actors, and something that should prove that Disney and Lucasfilm made the right decision in choosing the young actor to play Han Solo.

We still don’t know much of anything about Untitled Han Solo Star Wars Anthology Film, which is being written by Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan. We do know that we will see Chewbacca, as he too will play a vital role in the film.

Recently, Miller posted a photo of Han’s blaster on Twitter, indicating that they were excited to shoot the film soon.

[Source: THR]