Not content with working on an animated Spider-Man film, further Lego movies, another Jump Street (possibly incorporating Men in Black) and The Flash, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have been announced as directors of the long-rumoured Han Solo origin story.

The untitled Star Wars prequel is to be written by veteran writer/director Lawrence Kasdan (co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and The Force Awakens) together with his son Jon. As details remain sketchy, we speculate on who could play the lovable rogue.

1. Chris Pine

Star Trek's Captain Kirk certainly has the connections, having already worked magic with Force Awakens director JJ Abrams on the Star Trek reboot. But if this is to be an origin story then Pine's age may work against him since he'd be older than Ford was when Star Wars released.

2. Kit Harington

Game of Thrones' big breakout star has the brooding looks and the dark locks, plus he recently demonstrated a hitherto unseen levity essential to the role. He's also dipped his toe in action waters with Pompeii, and outside of Thrones he's relatively unknown which works in his favour.

3. Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Still only 25, the Kick-Ass star already has a significant body of work behind him. Recent work on blockbusters Godzilla and Avengers: Age of Ultron show he can handle action, but he may be a little too broody for Solo.

4. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

With charisma, charm and boyish good looks, Gordon-Levitt could be a shoo-in, as long as his 34 years don't work against him. Inception and The Dark Knight Rises show he can handle sci-fi and action, while 500 Days of Summer and Don Jon demonstrate his versatility. And in Looper Gordon-Levitt managed to passably impersonate a young Bruce Willis, despite looking nothing like a young Bruce Willis.

5. Chris Hemsworth

Hot off a succession of Avengers/Thor box office hits, Hemsworth has the requisite smouldering charm, rugged handsomeness and quick wit for the role. At 6' 2" he's a similar height to Ford. But that blond barnet would have to go.

6. Zac Efron

The High School Musical breakout star bucked expectations by taking roles in interesting indie projects including Me and Orson Welles and Parkland . But At 5' 9", Efron would struggle to fit in Ford's shoes, and he's untested in blockbuster territory.

7. Andrew Garfield

With The Amazing Spider-Man series recently cancelled, London-raised Garfield has a large gap in his schedule. He's already demonstrated an uncanny ability to play young, so even at 31-years-old Garfield could play Solo over a range of years. And his American accent is impeccable.

8. Anthony Ingruber

Ingruber was cast as a younger version of Harrison Ford's character in The Age of Adaline, thanks to his uncanny resemblance to the legendary actor, and his ability to imitate him vocally. While he certainly looks and sounds the part, Ingruber's inexperience must rule him out (Adaline was his first and thus-far only feature).

9. Armie Hammer

After playing both the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network, Hammer was set for superstardom via Disney's The Lone Ranger. Sadly that project catastrophically tanked, although Guy Ritchie went on to cast Hammer in his adaptation of TV spy caper The Man from U.N.C.L.E. opposite former Man of Steel Henry Cavill. Hammer certainly has the looks, but he's untested on his own. And unless making the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs has a compressing effect on the spine, Hammer's 6' 5" frame may work against him.

10. Chris Pratt

Obviously Chris Pratt. In his favour he played Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, a character that was clearly inspired by Han Solo. And although he was somewhat wasted in Jurassic World, he cemented his action film credentials. Furthermore, he's been long-tipped to take possession of Ford's bullwhip for the rumoured reboot of Indiana Jones. And it's also for those very reasons that he's likely not in consideration for the role of Han Solo.