Jon Favreau is voicing an "important" character in Solo: A Star Wars Story

Ron Howard's upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story has added another major player to its already incredible cast in actor/director Jon Favreau, who is set to voice a "very cool and important" character in the spin-off.

• Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Solo: A Star Wars Story character has been revealed
• The first Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer FINALLY reveals what the movie is about

The news was shared by Howard via a tweet on Thursday, announcing that the director – who is helming the upcoming live action Lion King reboot – would voice an alien character. "Flattered and fortunate I could pull him away from his #LionKing directing duties," Howard said. Check out his tweet below.

As information about the film remains incredibly scarce, it is unclear whether or not Favreau's alien will be someone we already know, or a completely new character.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is set before the events of the original Star Wars films, and finds Han Solo (with Alden Ehrenreich replacing Harrison Ford for the prequel) on a misadventure, during which he encounters fan favourite Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover taking over from Billy Dee Williams), Chewbecca and some new characters played by Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emilia Clarke and Paul Bettany.

Check out the trailer for the film below.

Solo: A Star Wars Story will be released in UK cinemas on 25th May