Months before Disney and LucasFilm confirmed in May that Alden Ehrenreich is playing the iconic Han Solo in the studio's new Star Wars spin-off, there were a slew of actors rumored to be in consideration for the coveted role. Actors such as Dave Franco, Jack Reynor and Logan Lerman were reportedly contender. Today, we learned a bit more about why Alden Ehrenreich was chosen. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller explain in a new interview that the actor went through a grueling audition process.

We first reported on Disney's casting process for this Star Wars spin-off back in December 2015, with the studio reportedly telling talent agencies to submit their clients who are between the ages of 18 and 32. Alden Ehrenreich wasn't among the initial batch of rumored contenders, such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Miles Teller and Nick Robinson, but directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller told USA Today that Alden Ehrenreich was literally the first actor to read for the role. Here's what Chris Miller had to say about what Alden Ehrenreich had to go through to land the Han Solo role.

"That guy pretty much went through an audition pentathlon; it was like an acting steeplechase. He went against a lot of very strong competitors and was very consistently the guy from minute one. He was the first person who auditioned out of thousands, and just out of the box, made you believe that someday he'd grow into the character we know."

As of now, Alden Ehrenreich is the only confirmed cast member for this adventure, which will be reportedly set 10 years before A New Hope. There have been rumors that Lando Calrissian will return for this story, with other reports claiming that Disney/LucasFilm are eyeing Donald Glover for the role. The last we heard about this project was a report from a few weeks ago that revealed cinematographer Bradford Young has signed on.

There was also a report from August that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are casting Sana Solo, Han Solo's first wife. That report claimed the casting search had been narrowed down to four actresses, none of whom are white, but the contenders were not identified. Han Solo: A Star Wars Story has been set for release on May 25, 2018, with production scheduled to begin in early 2017.