Lando Was Originally Going To Be A Clone
The history of Star Wars is one of many drafts, ideas, concepts, and themes. It is an ever changing and evolving process . There are many versions and variations of the movies, as one might say. The Star Wars saga that we have come to know and love could have taken shape many different ways. With these various drafts come various takes on the characters, and many directions they could have gone. Once upon a time, R2-D2 could talk, Han Solo was an alien, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were two separate characters, and Luke Skywalker was originally female. These were just examples from A New Hope alone. The characters of Empire Strikes Back went through similar evolution as well. The movie was going to dig deep into the backstory of one particularly suave and cool Lando Calrissian. In an alternate version of the movie, he was supposed to be a clone.
Clones and cloning were nothing new in Star Wars lore. It had been baked into the DNA of the overarching story ever since Luke Skywalker asked Obi-Wan Kenobi if he had fought in the Clone Wars. While the clones would eventually make an official appearance in Attack of the Clones, the clone storyline was actually supposed to begin in Empire Strikes Back with the introduction of Lando Calrissian. When George Lucas was beginning the work on Empire Strikes Back, he went to known science fiction writer Leigh Brackett to write the first draft. In her version of the script, Lando was supposed to be a clone. As clones had a shadowy reputation in Star Wars lore at the time, it would tie into the untrustworthiness of Lando. This explained why Han Solo hesitated in going to him for help. It was also why Leia never fully trusted him, probably having heard terrible tales of the clones from the time when her father and Obi-Wan fought side by side in the aforementioned Clone Wars. Furthermore, with the Empire's ideas of eugenics and purity, it made sense for a clone like Lando to choose to stand up against the Empire later on.
Writer Leigh Brackett
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According to the lore established by Lucas and the Expanded Universe during the early 1990s, the Clone Wars were originally a literal war against clones. This was quite the opposite of the Clone Wars we have become familiar with. Some clones had been afflicted with "clone madness," causing them to attack the galaxy. Lando was to be part of a noble clan of clones who were partly responsible for this particular Clone Wars. The combined forces of the Jedi and the Republic fought against the clones as opposed to alongside them. This conflict would eventually lead to the rise of the Empire and Palpatine.
Leigh Brackett was not able to flesh out this particular version of the charismatic Lando Calrissian as she passed away from cancer only weeks after she had submitted the first draft of the script. In later revisions of the script, the character was no longer a clone. However, his betrayal of his friends and his later redemption were kept in the final version of the script. Other elements like the Rebel base on an ice planet, and Vader's pursuit of Luke also originated from Brackett's draft.
While the idea of Lando Calrissian as a clone was eventually dropped, much of his character's story remained the same. This showed how the making Star Wars was very much an organic process. Ideas may remain the same or evolve over time. Lucas and his creative collaborators worked hard to ensure that they presented the best final products possible. It is fascinating for us Star Wars fans to ponder and speculate on what might have been.
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Source: Digital Spy