'Han Solo' release date, news: Woody Harrelson in early talks to play Han Solo's mentor

Who would have thought that Woody Harrelson could play the mentor role when he was starting out? He has already portrayed Katniss Everdeen's (Jennifer Lawrence) mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, in "The Hunger Games," and it looks like he may also be mentoring a certain smuggler in a galaxy far, far away.

Variety has reported that Harrelson is in early talks to play Han Solo's (Alden Ehrenreich) mentor in the "Han Solo" spinoff film. The publication said the actor was the top choice for the role, but he hasn't signed on yet.

Aside from "The Hunger Games" series, the Emmy Award-winning actor has also starred in "Zombieland," "Natural Born Killers" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt." Harrelson has already proven that he can take on a variety of roles, and he will also appear as the Colonel in the upcoming film, "War for the Planet of the Apes."

The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Christian Bale's name was actually linked to the movie at one point because the studio wants a big name for the role.

Recent reports say that the film may be delayed to Dec. 13, 2018. Right now, Disney and Lucasfilm have yet to make an announcement about the possible change in release date. The "Han Solo" spinoff film was originally slated to come out on May 25, 2018.

Besides Ehrenreich, the film will also star Donald Glover as a young Lando Calrissian, and "Game of Thrones" actress Emilia Clarke in an unspecified role. Kathleen Kennedy and Allison Shearmur will produce the film.

The "Han Solo" film will be the second standalone movie set in the "Star Wars" universe after "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" premiered last month. "Rogue One" has already grossed more than $800 million worldwide, so the studio is going to be in a lot of pressure to make "Han Solo" succeed as well.