Paul Bettany has joined the Han Solo 'spin-off movie.

Ron Howard and Paul Bettany [Twitter]

Ron Howard and Paul Bettany [Twitter]

Director Ron Howard revealed the casting news by sharing a picture of Paul, 46, on his Twitter page and writing: ""The Outer Rim just got a little bit wilder #PaulBettany #ForceFriday. It's my third opportunity to work with Paul. He's a blast and so talented."

Ron, 63, and Paul have previously worked together on 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'The Da Vinci Code'.

Meanwhile, Michael K. Williams was recently cut out of the untitled Han Solo movie.

The 50-year-old actor's commitment to 'The Red Sea Diving Resort' and TV show 'Hap and Leonard' meant he was unavailable for the reshoots new director Ron - who was brought on board following the departure of Christopher Miller and Phil Lord - wanted for his version of the film, so it was decided to drop his unnamed half-human, half-animal role from the project completely.

He said: "I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with.

"We created a kick-ass character, in my opinion. I'm proud of it. When Ron Howard got hired to finish out the film, there were some reshoot issues that needed to be done in regards to my character, in order for it to match the new direction which the producers wanted Ron to carry the film in.

"And that would have required me on a plane a month ago to London, to Pinewood, to do reshoots. But I'm here, on location in Africa. It's scheduling.

I'm not going to be back on the market until the end of November after 'Hap and Leonard', and for them to wait that long for me, that would have pushed back the release date, which I believe is in May 2018. They wanted me now; I couldn't go. So they had to clip-clip-clip."

The 'Han Solo' spin-off movie is set to follow a younger version of the titular character, with Alden Ehrenreich taking over the iconic role from Harrison Ford.

Han and his wookiee sidekick Chewbacca will be seen first meeting Lando Calrissian - played by Donald Glover - and they will also encounter Woody Harrelson's alter ego Beckett, who is believed to be a mentor to young Han who guides him on his journey to becoming a space smuggler.

'The untitled Han Solo film will be released in May 2018.

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