Image copyright Entertainment One Image caption Harrelson was seen playing a teacher in last year's The Edge of Seventeen

Woody Harrelson has been officially cast in the currently untitled Star Wars spin-off about the young Han Solo.

The film's co-directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, said they "couldn't be more excited to work with an artist with as much depth and range".

Donald Glover, who won a Golden Globe on Sunday for his US TV show Atlanta, will play the young Lando Calrissian opposite Alden Ehrenreich's Han.

Emilia Clarke will also appear in the film, scheduled for release in 2018.

The British actress is best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones and also appeared in 2015's Terminator: Genysys.

Harrelson, best known for playing barman Woody in Cheers, was more recently seen as Haymitch Abernathy in the four Hunger Games films.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Donald Glover won a Golden Globe on Sunday for his role in TV show Atlanta

Lord and Miller, who also directed The Lego Movie, said Harrelson's "ability to find both humour and pathos, often in the same role, [was] truly unique".

The film-makers did not give any details about his role in the film - although they did reveal on the official Star Wars site that "he is also very good at ping pong".

Later this month, the 55-year-old plans to shoot a live movie that will be filmed in a single take in London and broadcast directly to US cinemas.

Harrison Ford played Han Solo in the original Star Wars film trilogy, returning to reprise the role in 2015's The Force Awakens.

Billy Dee Williams played Lando Calrissian in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi.

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