Omar strikes back? Han Solo movie gains 'Wire' star in mystery role
You join the Han Solo movie, you'd best not miss.
Michael Kenneth Williams, known to millions of HBO viewers as beguiling bad guy Omar on The Wire and gangster Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire, has officially joined the cast of the 2018 Star Wars movie, Lucasfilm confirmed Monday.
"Williams is going from his hometown of Brooklyn to a galaxy far, far away," read the official announcement, which followed a week of rumors that the star was in talks to join the film in an undisclosed role.
That role remains entirely mysterious, however -- in contrast to Williams' co-stars Alden Ehrenreich (young Han Solo), Donald Glover (young Lando Calrissian), Woody Harrelson (a mentor to young Han from the criminal underworld), Joonas Suotamo (young Chewbacca) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who is said to be playing a CGI character in the style of Alan Tudyk's K-2SO from Rogue One.
No villain has yet been announced for the still-untitled film. But Williams' career thus far leads us to think he'd be the perfect suave, wise-cracking antagonist to Ehrenreich's smuggler scoundrel.
Also starring in unannounced roles: Emilia Clarke, best known for Game of Thrones, and Thandie Newton, best known for Westworld.
In other words, the movie is becoming something of an HBO all-star reunion -- and we couldn't be happier about that.
The untitled Han Solo movie, written by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan and directed by Phil Miller and Christopher Lord, is officially slated for release on May 25 of next year -- the 41st anniversary of the original Star Wars.
Topics Star Wars
Chris is a veteran tech, entertainment and culture journalist, author of 'How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,' and co-host of the Doctor Who podcast 'Pull to Open.' Hailing from the U.K., Chris got his start as a sub editor on national newspapers. He moved to the U.S. in 1996, and became senior news writer for Time.com a year later. In 2000, he was named San Francisco bureau chief for Time magazine. He has served as senior editor for Business 2.0, and West Coast editor for Fortune Small Business and Fast Company. Chris is a graduate of Merton College, Oxford and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a long-time volunteer at 826 Valencia, the nationwide after-school program co-founded by author Dave Eggers. His book on the history of Star Wars is an international bestseller and has been translated into 11 languages.
