Michael K. Williams will be cast in the untitled Han Solo A Star Wars Story movie. After an unforgettable performance in R. Kelly’s rap opera Trapped in the Closet (his performance in The Wire may have had some small part in his fame too), Williams has appeared in a number of movies, including Inherent Vice, The Purge: Anarchy and 12 Years a Slave. And now he’ll be an alien. Because even the humans are technically aliens in Star Wars, right?
While Williams’ character is unknown, he’ll be joining a cast of familiar Star Wars names, if not faces. The Han Solo movie will star Han, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca, each of whom will be played by different people than the actors who originated the roles. Instead of Harrison Ford, Han Solo will be played by Alden Ehrenreich. Instead of Billy Dee Williams, Donald Glover will play Lando. And instead of Peter Mayhew in the Chewbacca outfit, the Wookiee will be played by Finnish basketball player Joonas Suotamo.
The legacy characters will be joined by unnamed characters played by Thandie Newton (Westworld), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Woody Harrelson (War for the Planet of the Apes) and Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones).
The Han Solo movie will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street), working from a script by Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and is due out in theaters May 25, 2018.
