Alden Ehrenreich got a bad rap after Solo: A Star Wars Story
Lucasfilm
The “Amazing Spider-Man” movies never achieved the same critical success as Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy or the later MCU Spidey films, but they led to good things for Andrew Garfield, and it’s easy to imagine Alden Ehrenreich getting the same benefit had he landed the part. Instead, nearly a decade later, he wound up being cast as the young Han Solo in “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
That film has become somewhat infamous for a vocal minority of backlash against it and a lackluster box office performance, much of which was unfairly pinned on Ehrenreich being a poor choice for the lead. In reality (and I’m speaking as a “Star Wars” super-fan, here), Ehrenreich is arguably the best part of “Solo,” turning in a nuanced performance that brings in elements of Harrison Ford’s iconic turn while adding bits of his own.
Ehrenreich has thankfully rebuilt an impressive career in the wake of “Solo,” with recent parts in films like “Oppenheimer” and “Cocaine Bear,” in addition to his MCU debut. He’s also proven himself to become quite versatile, and it’s fun to consider what his own take on Spider-Man might have looked like. Though we’ll never know, it’s not too late to give “Solo” a second chance if you were one of those folks who wrote it off back in 2018.
