Alden Ehrenreich has beaten thousands of hopefuls to the role of Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off.

According to unnamed sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter, Harrison Ford is handing over the controls of the Millennium Falcon to the American actor renowned for his role in Hail, Caesar!

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Ehrenreich is apparently in the final stages of negotiations to play a young Han Solo in the movie.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller, of 21 Jump Street and Lego Movie, have been installed as directors on the spin-off, which is part of a package of movies scheduled for release by the franchise’s new owner, Disney.

Disney broke box office records with the most recent instalment, The Force Awakens.

Apart from Hail Caesar!, Ehrenreich has also appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro.