'Star Wars: Lando' Will Billy Dee Williams Or Donald Glover Reprise Their Role In The Show?

Disney’s 2020 Investor Day brought many major announcements for the Star Wars universe including the news of ten series to be featured on the Disney+ streaming service. There were announcements for series focused on Ahsoka Tano, Cassian Andor, and Obi-Wan Kenobi just to name a few. But one of the more surprising announcements was that an event series focused on Lando Calrissian was in the early stages of development.

The series, simply titled Lando, is currently being developed by Justin Simien, the creator of the film Dear White People and the series of the same name; the series Dear White People is currently streaming on Netflix (where you can see appearances by Giancarlo Esposito, who plays The Mandalorian villain Moff Gideon).

Justin Simien’s work tends to focus on stories related to Black American culture and experiences. As seen in Dear White People and his film Bad Hair, which is now streaming on another Disney-owned platform, Hulu, Simien’s work is witty, succinct, and filled to the brim with style, which could be perfect for a series focused on Lando Calrissian.

Other than the fact Simien will be leading the creation of the show and that the series will be focused on Star Wars’ favorite smooth-talking smuggler, there actually isn’t much known about the project, leading to a lot of interesting speculations about the tone, the plot, the timeline, and especially about who could be playing the titular character.

Billy Dee Williams of course portrayed the character in the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, returning for the role in The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Before Williams’ return to the role, Donald Glover portrayed a younger version of the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. Glover, known for his time on the comedy series Community and his music released under the moniker Childish Gambino, is also the creator and star of the FX show Atlanta, which can be seen on Hulu.

A lot of current speculation about Lando the series hinges on who will be portraying the lead role. If the role is portrayed by Williams, there is speculation that the plot will revolve around Lando’s adventures between Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, but there is an idea floating around that a Williams led series could take place after his journey in The Rise of Skywalker.

Fans will remember that at the end of Episode IX, Lando had a brief conversation with Jannah, a former stormtrooper that defected from the First Order who then fought in the Battle of Exegol. Jannah asks Lando where he was from, and after telling her that he comes from the Gold System, he turns the question back on her, though she can’t give him an answer because she isn’t sure herself. To that, Lando says, “Well let’s find out.”

If this does turn out to be the direction Simien is taking the series, this would be the first notable Star Wars property to take place after the events of The Rise of Skywalker (though there is some speculation that the Patty Jenkins film, Rogue Squadron, could take place after the fall of the First Order). The plot of this Lando series would be something along the lines of Lando helping Jannah find her place in the universe, possibly including the rest of Jannah’s crew of First Order deserters, as they traverse the galaxy. Further, this is described as an ‘event series’, suggesting a limited run. So following this speculative plot, the series could be a jumping-off point for a story solely focused on Jannah.

Putting a pin in that idea for a moment, the possibility of Lando instead being portrayed by Donald Glover would take the timeline of the series closer to that of Solo: A Star Wars Story, sometime during the age of the Galactic Empire. Looking at that film for reference, this version of Lando could focus on the misadventures of the character, or as Lando described it in the film, “the Calrissian Chronicles” which he was writing so “the universe could fully absorb [his] prodigiousness.”

"The Calrissian Chronicles" was a reference to Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures, a set of stories in Star Wars Legends written by L. Niel Smith. The stories detail Lando's adventures with the Millenium Falcon, which could be heavily featured in the series if this is the direction Simien is planning on going.

Solo: A Star Wars Story also has a brief appearance by Darth Maul, who at this point in the timeline, was a galactic crime lord, so there is a chance that he might have a run-in with a certain cape-wearing smuggler.

A separate possibility for a Glover led Lando series could take place in a time after the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, looking at the adventures of the character that would lead him to become the Baron Ambassador of the Cloud City and later get tied up with the Empire and Darth Vader.

What do you think about this new series? Who would you like to see take on the role, and what adventures should the series focus on? Until Disney and Lucasfilms release more information about Lando, all we can do is have fun speculating!

Lando is expected to premiere exclusively on Disney+.

Source:

TheVerge