"No one's going to play Lando Calrissian but Caught in the Act: Promiscuous Sex Life of My D-Cup Mother in law (2025)me," Billy Dee Williams said, rapping his cane on the floor for emphasis.
This was early 2013; Star Wars fans were still digesting the news that the as-yet-unnamed Episode VII would be hitting cineplexes. Nobody knew which characters would be returning. But Billy Dee, then 76, felt a strong sense of possession over his most famous character —the one he had played not just in Empire Strikes Backand Return of the Jedi, but also in a half-dozen videogames, Mad TVand Robot Chicken.
When we met, he was waiting for a call from Lucasfilm that never came.
As we now know, one of the few shortcomings of The Force Awakenswas a curious lack of Lando. One of what was supposedly a quartet of heroes, the man who saved Han Solo's life and destroyed the second Death Star, was given a raw deal — and not for the first time in the Star Wars universe.
So Friday's news that the talented star of Communityand Atlanta, Donald Glover, will finally be bringing Lando back to the screen in the as-yet-unnamed Han Solo movie, was at once welcome, bittersweet, and a long overdue recognition of the character — at one end of his life, at least.
Technically, Billy Dee Williams did get to play Lando again. He voiced a younger version of the old smoothie in Season 2 of the Star Wars Rebelsanimated series, as well as a plastic version in The Lego Movieand the EA game Star Wars Battlefront. He also got to strap on the blue cape one more time on national television thanks to Dancing With the Stars.
But the Force Awakenssnub couldn't help but remind fans of the problematic manner in which Lando came into our lives. Think about it: The first black character in the Star Wars series shows up two-thirds of the way through the second movie — and is revealed to be debonair but untrustworthy, having sold out his guests to Darth Vader before they even arrived.
Of course, the heroism Lando displayed throughout Return of the Jedi(saving Han from the Sarlaac, piloting the Millennium Falcon into the heart of a fully operational battle station) more than made up for the manner of his entry. But what we didn't know at the time was that Lando almost made the ultimate sacrifice.
In a story conference during the writing of the film, George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan and director Richard Marquand agreed that Lando should die during the Death Star attack; it stayed that way for a couple of days, at least. The trio agonized over how to break it to Billy Dee.
At any rate, there he was at the end of the picture — the only main human character to not be yub-nubbing over a new family member or girlfriend. (Those Ewoks weren't exactly great conversationalists.)
The original owner of the Falcon blew up a Death Star and, like Chewbacca, never got a medal.
SEE ALSO: Donald Glover is playing young Lando Calrissian and 'Star Wars' fans are pumpedLando got short shrift in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars literature, too. Han got two trilogies, starting with the beloved Han Solo at Star's End in 1979. His old pal had to wait until 1983 for bizarre and little-remembered adventures withthe Mindharp of Sharu, the Flamewind of Oseon andthe Starcave of Thonboka.
So it isn't just that Glover has, as Han Solo movie directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller put it in their statement Friday, "big shoes to fill, and an even bigger cape." No one can replace Billy Dee in our hearts, but Glover is cool enough to occupy a similar-shaped hole in our souls.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
It's more that Lord and Miller have some big decisions to make. Is Calrissian going to be the perennial second fiddle — or second mindharp, if you will — to Solo? Is Han always going to be holding the better hand of Sabacc, or will equality and diversity triumph in the galaxy far, far away?
Maybe so. "This new film depicts Lando in his formative years as a scoundrel on the rise in the galaxy’s underworld," promised Lucasfilm in a statement. That makes him sound like a co-star, not an understudy.
Given that Glover is arguably as big a star as Alden Ehrenreich, our new Han Solo, could we hope that the two get equal billing even in the title? Could this untitled 2018 film be known, eventually, as "the Han andLando Adventures?"
We can only hope. When it comes to Lando, it seems Lucasfilm just altered the bargain.
Let's pray they alter it further.
Topics Star Wars
Bets gift card deal: Save $7.50 on a $50 Instacart gift card at Best BuyCES 2025: This little magnetic band will help you breathe betterBest TCL TV deal: Save $150 on 65Keys vs. Samsonova 2025 livestream: Watch Adelaide International for freeStreaming deals: Get free Peacock, Paramount+, and MaxCES 2025: Wearable AI device Bee Pioneer listens, learns, and helps you get things doneBest TCL TV deal: Save $150 on 65Best Target Circle 360 deal: How to get free giftTesla launched the new Model Y in China. Here's what you need to knowBest LG OLED TV deal: Save $100 on 65Best Dyson deal: Save over $100 on a refurbished Dyson cordless vacuumStreaming deals: Get free Peacock, Paramount+, and MaxBest TV deal: Get a 65Can I watch 'A Real Pain' at home? Here's when and where it's streaming.Kecmanovic vs. Korda 2025 livestream: Watch Adelaide International for freeOpenAI's Sam Altman sued by sister for sexual abuse, which allegedly began when she was 3Protect your digital life: Key strategies for online safetyWashington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls 2025 livestream: Watch NBA onlineI bent LG's new 5K2K bendable gaming monitor at CES 2025Stunning new images of Mercury show the scorched planet's north pole Trump marks one Costco will finally deliver all those giant bulk items with its new grocery service Smartphones are more interesting now than they've been in years Russian ads targeted Google platforms, too New York Comic Con's Westworld experience is a little too real Season 8 of 'Game of Thrones' will begin production on Sunday 'Phantom labeller' causes mischief at New Zealand museum Someone's already has the iPhone X out in the wild Premium esports shows are heading to Hulu 10 tricks for saving your phone's battery life Wanted man taunts police on Facebook, it backfires big time The BlackBerry Motion has no physical keyboard and its battery life is enormous 'Rick and Morty' fans are now selling PICTURES of the Szechuan sauce online BlackBerry's next phone appears to counter trends with enormous bezel Sony's bringing back an old favorite to get back into AI Be your own publicist: How to use your resume to really sell yourself Nintendo fans bid farewell to the Miiverse in hilarious and touching ways YouTube bans bump stock firearm demonstration videos 'Black Mirror' Season 4 is the 'most playful' and 'most horrible' yet In Las Vegas, an empty lot transforms into a community healing garden
2.5807s , 10132.0625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Caught in the Act: Promiscuous Sex Life of My D-Cup Mother in law (2025)】,Inspiration Information Network