Woody Harrelson reveals who he’s playing in Star Wars: Han Solo

Woody Harrelson told Jimmy Fallon the name of his Star Wars character and his relationship to young Han Solo in the smuggler’s upcoming standalone film.

Actor Woody Harrelson either really likes trolling Star Wars fans, or else he has little filter when it comes to talking about his role in the Han Solo movie.

OnThe Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night, Harrelson revealed his Star Wars character’s name is Beckett. He then described Beckett as a criminal as well as a mentor figure to Han Solo.

Harrelson already revealed in past interviews that the character he plays in the upcoming standalone movie is Han Solo’s mentor. The fact “Beckett” is also a criminal is not surprising; it takes a smuggler to teach another to be one.

The only new thing Harrelson confessed on The Tonight Show was his character’s name. And he could be lying about that. (Although, his casual dropping of the name suggests he didn’t just pull it out of his hat.) If Beckett is Harrelson’s character’s name, however, we can dispel the rumor that Harrelson is playing Garris Shrike, Solo’s mentor in the Legends books.

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Harrelson’s openness about his Star Wars character reflects a departure from Lucasfilm’s policy of extreme secrecy surrounding their films. If he’s not careful, however, he could be removed from the press trail when the Han Solo film’s promotional campaign starts. Something similar may have happened to actor Jiang Wen, who played Baze Malbus in Rogue One. During the Rogue One panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016, Wen revealed that Chirrut Imwe (played by Donnie Yen) dies in the film. This was several months before Rogue One‘s premiere in December 2016. After that panel, Wen did not appear in any major panels or any Rogue One press junkets in the US. He didn’t even attend the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of the standalone film.

We don’t know if Wen spilling the beans about Chirrut’s death was the reason for his absence from press events following Celebration Europe. But it is a curious coincidence, and one which may affect Harrelson, as well, if he’s not careful.

For now, however, we will take full advantage of Harrelson’s delightful penchant for transparency. We hope it continues in some capacity and that he won’t get in trouble for revealing anything “spoilery” about the Han Solo movie.

Next: Jyn Erso's mother was a Jedi in the original Rogue One script

The standalone Star Wars movie about young Han Solo premieres in theaters May 25, 2018.