EXCLUSIVE: Steven Spielberg on Discovering Young Han Solo: 'People Don't Know How Really Funny He Is'

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Apparently we have Steven Spielberg to thank for finding our young Han Solo.

Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) will take over for Harrison Ford in the Star Wars spinoff film, which will be directed by The LEGO Movie helmers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. But it was the legendary director who first discovered Ehrenreich, he revealed at an American Film Institute event on Thursday.

"He was in a bat mitzvah video that my daughter acted with him in for their best friend," Spielberg told ET's Ashley Crossan. "They showed me the video and I loved it and I got him an agent. That's sort of how it all began."


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"I thought he had a lot of promise in comedy," the Oscar winner explained. "I didn't know he was going to rogue [into] drama. He was so funny in this video, I thought, 'I have found the next really funny comedian.' But most of his choices have been in drama and people don't know how really funny he is."

People will finally have a chance to see what Spielberg saw when Ehrenreich pilots the Millennium Falcon and starts cracking wise with Chewbacca in the untitled anthology film, set to hit theaters in 2018.

Meanwhile, the 69-year-old director is focused on another iconic project: the next Indiana Jones movie.

We know that Spielberg and Ford will be back for the fifth installment in the franchise, but ahead of the AFI ceremony honoring John Williams with a Lifetime Achievement Award, Spielberg exclusively confirmed to ET that Williams will return to compose the score for Indiana Jones 5.

Get the scoop in the video below.