Star Wars: Alden Ehrenreich to play young Han Solo

Alden Ehrenreich appeared in the Coen brothers' film Hail, Caesar!

Alden Ehrenreich will play the young Han Solo in a Star Wars spin-off movie.

The news was confirmed at the Star Wars Celebration fan event in London, where the 26-year-old actor made a surprise appearance.

He told the audience he was "very, very excited" about being cast in the role made famous by Harrison Ford.

Ehrenreich's casting has been rumoured for months. Earlier this year he appeared in the Coen brothers' comedy Hail, Caesar!.

The American was chosen to play the space smuggler after the filmmakers saw around 3,000 actors for the part.

"I auditioned for about six months," Ehrenreich revealed on stage. "The coolest part of the audition process was I went on the [Millennium] Falcon."

Ehrenreich (r) on stage with Force Awakens actor John Boyega at the Star Wars Celebration

The as-yet-untitled movie will begin filming in the UK in early 2017.

It will cover events in Han Solo's life before his appearance in the original 1977 Star Wars film, A New Hope.

It will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, whose previous films include The Lego Movie.