Solo: A Star Wars Story may have disappointed at the box office, but Alden Ehrenreich did a fantastic job as the young Han Solo. Following in Harrison Ford's footsteps was never going to be an easy task, but the actor did his best, and most Star Wars fans would be happy to see him reprise the role.
While that franchise is currently in the actor's rearview, next up for him is the Marvel Studios and Disney+'s Ironheart.
The prevailing theory thus far has been that Ehrenreich will play Ezekiel Stane, the son of Iron Man villain Obadiah Stane. However, a U.S. Copyright listing by Marvel Studios (unearthed by ComicBook.com) reveals a very different role for the actor.
According to that, the former Millennium Falcon pilot is playing "Joe McGillicuddy" in Ironheart.
As far as we're aware, there are no characters in the comic books with that name and certainly not anyone with ties to Riri Williams or Tony Stark. Of course, with Sacha Baron Cohen listed as "Mystery Man" - that's not who he's really playing - we'd say this is a placeholder to avoid spoilers leaking.
Earlier this year, Ehrenreich talked about working with Robert Downey Jr. on Oppenheimer and revealed whether the Iron Man star discouraged him from joining the MCU.
"He was talking about 'microdosing' commercial projects alongside artistic ones, and then right before I said yes to it, I just FaceTimed him and was like, 'Is there something that I need to know before I sign on to this?' I was like, 'Is he going to say, ‘Don’t do it’?'"
"I think they asked Harrison Ford before [Solo] what he would say to the next Han Solo, and he said, 'Don’t do it.' But Downey didn’t say that, and I sort of had the honor of introducing [Downey Jr. and Thorne]," Ehrenreich continued. "They didn’t know each other and hadn’t talked yet, so I put them in contact with each other."
"He is so unf***ingbelievably generous and sweet and giving with his time, and he was so happy to talk to her and encourage her. So that was really nice."
In Ironheart, charming teenage super genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) returns from MIT to her hometown of Chicago in her iron suit and begins to unravel threads that bring danger and adventure right to her doorstep.
The series doesn't currently have a premiere date but isn't expected to arrive on Disney+ until early 2025.