The new Han Solo, Alden Ehrenreich, enjoying the 'Star Wars' galaxy

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- "Solo: A Star Wars Story" is expected to send the box office into hyper-space this weekend.

It's also the most high-profile role for its star, actor Alden Ehrenreich. He plays the young Han Solo.

In this story, we learn how Han Solo met Chewbacca, and how he first encountered Lando Calrissian.

We meet Solo long before his days with Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

"There's incredible heart, pathos and then a moment later there's something - you're about to die. And right after that, you're wise-cracking," said Ehrenreich. "So the blend of it all is a lot of fun."

He also says fans can expect plenty of surprises.

"One of the wonderful joys of making this movie is getting to watch things come into place that you know and love - and then some things that are very unexpected," said Ehrenreich.

"One of the fun things about being in a 'Star Wars' movie is every time there's a new scene or a new character, you're talking to an alien or you're going through a new world but you know there's gonna be four books, 16 toys, a whole graphic novel about that alien that walks by in the background of the one scene. you're weaving this whole tapestry the whole time."

Ehrenreich said he is especially excited that he's now a very popular uncle to his seven nieces and nephews.

"They all told me, they were like, you should be in a 'Star Wars' movie," joked Ehrenreich. "So I think their understanding of how acting - like a career - works is way off now because they just said it and then it happened!"

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence. It's in theaters nationwide May 25.