Star Wars finds its young Han Solo in Alden Ehrenreich

After sifting through more than 2,500 auditions, directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord have cast Alden Ehrenreich as the young Han Solo in their upcoming anthology movie.

Ehrenreich, best known for his work in Hail Caesar!, beat out competition from more seasoned actors including Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Miles Teller (Whiplash) and Ansel Elgort (Fault in Our Stars), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ehrenreich is currently in final negotiations with Miller, Lord and Disney to take on Han Solo — a role first made famous by Harrison Ford in 1977.

Although there hasn't been too much information released about the film, it will focus on the origin story of Han Solo and his furry best friend, Chewbacca. The events of the film will take place years before the characters joined Luke Skywalker on his mission to fight against the Empire in A New Hope.

Lord and Miller will also be penning the script for the movie, which is due out in 2018. The first stand-alone anthology film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, will be released Dec. 16.