Will Harrison Ford be in the new Han Solo movie?

Q: Will Harrison Ford appear in the new Star Wars movie about Han Solo?

A: Harrison Ford isn't listed in the official cast list for "Solo: A Star Wars Story," but speculation about possible cameos is running rampant.

Solo, another of the prequel films/back story set in the Star Wars universe like Rogue One, is slated to open in theaters this week.

Some fans believe Ford, who famously asked George Lucas for his character to be killed off in the original trilogy but was not granted his wish, will now put as much distance between himself and the films that started his career as possible.

Others say Ford gave Alden Ehrenreich, who will star in the title character's role, tips on how to play Solo and, in various interviews, Ehrenreich said he was striving for continuity of character in his performance ... what would be more continuous than to have a flash-forward sequence at the beginning or end of the film? A tip-of-the-hat, if you will, to the new incarnation of Han Solo.

It's clear from the recent interviews, Ehrenreich is a fan of Ford's performance in the original films. When asked what his favorite part of playing the iconic character in this new franchise offering, Ehrenreich said it was flying the Millennium Falcon.

Director Ron Howard said, in interviews for IMDb.com, he wants this film to be a character driven piece. Howard said he spoke to George Lucas about this film and Lucas instructed him to "go with his gut."

My gut tells me Harrison is going to stay away from this film to give the up-and-coming Ehrenreich the chance to fly. But, I would be happily delighted to be proved wrong.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Will Harrison Ford be in the new Han Solo movie?."