Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke will swap dragons for intergalactic space travel after it was confirmed that she will join the cast of the yet-to-be-named Han Solo spin-off film.

The British actor joins Alden Ehrenreich, who will play Solo, and Donald Glover, who was confirmed for the role of Lando Calrissian in October.

The film is to take place before Star Wars: A New Hope and will focus on the formative years of Solo and Calrissian as they became space smugglers and, as Lucasfilms put it, “scoundrels on the rise”.

Clarke’s confirmation as the female lead in the film comes after rumors that Tessa Thompson, Naomi Scott and Zoe Kravitz were in consideration for the role. Other actors in the running were relative unknown Kiersey Clemons and Clarke’s fellow Game of Thrones star, Jessica Henwick.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens made more than $2bn at the box office while Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opens in December, has been tipped to help its parent company, Disney Films, make a record-breaking $7bn at the box office in 2016.

The spin-off is scheduled to start filming in January and will come to the big screen in May 2018.